


The Hunt

by psuedopoetic



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:06:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 79,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24011770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psuedopoetic/pseuds/psuedopoetic
Summary: In which Hearne Fowler joins a team of young heroes when she herself isn't one.
Relationships: Artemis Crock/Wally West, Kaldur'ahm/Original Female Character(s), Kon-El | Conner Kent/M'gann M'orzz
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	1. Olympian of Fate

**HEARNE HAD BEEN LIVING WITH ATHENA FOR NEARLY FIVE YEARS, SHE READ THE WOMAN WELL.** She read everyone well, but Athena especially. The woman wasn't like the people she'd grown up around, she was full of faults. More human than Hearne could ever imagine being. Athena was the type of person that would bake you cookies when you were sick. Yet, somehow, she also knew several types of martial arts. Athena could be complicated, but not too complicated that Hearne hadn't figured her out within two years.

Because she knew the woman like the back of her hand, she knew that in the middle of sparring, something was wrong. Athena could never hold her own--not for too long, Hearne was much more skilled than her--but she could barely do it until the last moment. Athena rarely did that, not unless she was sick.

With a huff, Hearne pulled Athena up with one arm, her lips set into a minuscule frown, the one that the other always said looked disapproving. "Are you ill?"

"What, do I look that bad? I thought I looked pretty good today."

Hearne's features narrowed and Athena sighed, meeting the girl's eyes. "Okay, okay. Curse you for being a mind reader. I talked to you-know who, and he says he'd like you to join a team."

"Bruce, or Batman?" Hearne asked. "The two are entirely different."

"Batman," Athena answered. "The sidekicks--Robin, Kid Flash, those guys--they've split off, formed their own team. It's literally called the Team, kinda basic. But he thinks you should join."

"Why? I'm not like them. You know that, Athena, we've had this discussion."

The woman nodded, wiping at her forehead. "I know, and I know what you said. But think about it. A team of super-powered teens, giving tasks by the League themselves. You could finally . . . let it out in another way."

Hearne scowled at the floor, her lip twitching with irritation. "I'm not like them. I can't work with people like them."

"You don't have to work with them, you have to work _beside_ them." Athena put a hand on her shoulder. "Please? You know that even if it makes you stronger, it's going to make you worse one day."

"I know. But I'm not a hero."

"You don't have to be. You just have to do what I taught you to do, nothing else."

Hearne nodded. Because it didn't matter how she operated, she could still do one thing: manipulate.

_* * *_

**_HEARNE HAD NEVER_** personally met Bruce, nor Batman, but she had a fair suspicion of what they'd be like. She had records of Batman to go off, the highly-publicized encounters of Bruce Wayne, too, even some stories Athena tended to tell. Athena always kept it like that, never mentioning him often, only saying she was "going out" before she disappeared into the Zeta-Tube in the backyard to Gotham. It didn't take a genius to figure out that, at some point, the two had become more than friends in their own way.

She wasn't dumb, the thought of sneaking into the Zeta-Tube had crossed her mind before. At first, it was to seek revenge on people that were against what her family stood for, but over time, it morphed into a want to know more. Eventually, she learned to think more for herself, and realized her family's goals weren't what she wanted anymore, and she wanted to know about the Justice League, about who they truly were. But Athena only had access to certain Zeta-Tubes to Gotham, and Hearne certainly didn't have access to anything.

The fact that she was now getting her own designation in the system seemed strange. The fact that she had a suit, tailored to her by one scan days prior, and her choice of any of the weapons she owned (within reason) to use, was numbing. 

"You look sick," Athena said, her smile wide. "Seriously, you look . . . comfortable. Like you're meant to wear it." Her eyes drifted to the symbol of Hades on her chest. "You're doing your name well."

Hearne looked at the sacred tattoos covering her arms. "I hope so."

Athena's phone dinged and her eyes widened as she checked it. "He's here! And, remember, _behave_. Don't reveal your identity, either. Unless you want to. Which, I don't think you do. And, don't, unless you absolutely have to, kill. I know it's fine to you, but to them, it isn't."

Hearne nodded as she flipped the black hood over her head, darkening the part of her face that wasn't obscured by the mask around her eyes. "I will. And I won't, they will never know." She paused at the last part before she nodded once more, the small, minuscule nod she'd been taught to do. "I won't, they won't understand. They're heroes, they don't kill."

Athena smiled, giving her a pat on the shoulder as they made their way out the back door and onto the porch. "No matter what happens, I'll always be here, remember? We're . . . close."

Her jaw set in determination, the emotion draining from her face as she saw Batman standing by the door of the shed. "I remember."

She set off, walking across the dirt path to the shed, wondering if Batman felt out of his element in the middle of the countryside. He looked like he didn't belong. She also wondered what he thought of her. He didn't know who she was, or where she came from, every trace of her had been wiped from the word the day her family was killed along with them. Who did he think she was?

"Are you ready?"

Hearne wasn't sure. "Yes, sir."

He cast one last look to Athena before he led her into the Zeta-Tube and Hearne heard the words that sealed her fate.

 _B08, Olympian_.


	2. Crushing Reality

**STANDING THERE, HEARNE COULD FEEL THE TENSION IN THE AIR.** She knew of the other members and the newest addition that would arrive the same day as her. What she didn't know was that they weren't too fond of newcomers.

Robin looked thoroughly uncomfortable with the entire situation, more surprised than anyone else in the room. Clearly, the members of the League had known of Hearne and Artemis joining, but the members of the Team hadn't. Hearne almost found it funny how hurt Robin was at her appearing beside his mentor. Was he that insecure about his position that her appearance startled him that much?

After a tense few minutes following a very brief explanation to calm Robin down, the Zeta-Tube announced Kid Flash's arrival. Hearne expected the hero to be in his typical attire of red and yellow, but instead, he burst into the Cave in similar swimming shorts, arms full of beach supplies.

"The Wallman is here! Now let's get this party star--" 

Promptly, the umbrella he was carrying caught on the ground, sending him tipping forward, sliding against the cement floor in a way that brought back unpleasant memories. His items slid beside him, the beach ball bouncing past until Hearne had to step out of the way for it to hit the wall behind her.

"...ted."

"Wallman, huh?" Artemis said, her tone filled with sarcastic amusement. "I love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?"

"Uh, who's this?" Wally said, walking forward. "And who's the other one?"

"Artemis, your new teammate," the blonde greeted, a smug smile threatening to split across her lips.

"Olympian."

"Kid flash," he said, a false smile on his face, "never heard of you."

"Um, she's my new protege," Green Arrow said, stepping forward to put an arm around Artemis' shoulder.

"What happened to your old one?" Wally said, apparently still hurt about Speedy's absence. 

_Recognized, Speedy, B06_.

Everyone turned to look at the Zeta-Tube, but not before Robin gave Batman a pointed look. Hearne was hoping her introduction could wait, the explanation of "a friend of a friend" didn't sound any less suspicious than it was.

"Well, for starters," Speedy said as soon as he appeared, now donning a new suit, "he doesn't go by Speedy anymore." He certainly didn't _look_ like Speedy. "Call me Red Arrow."

"Roy," Green Arrow said, surprised, "you look--"

"Replaceable," he said, stepping forward.

"It's not like that," his former mentor tried, attempting to reason with him. "You told me you were going solo."

"So why waste time finding a snub? Can she even _use_ that bow?"

"Yes," Artemis said, stepping forward to stare up at the older teenager, "she can."

"Who are you?" Kid Flash asked, throwing his hands out. "And who's she? You still haven't answered _that_."

"I'm his niece," Artemis answered, at the same time Green Arrow supplied 'she's my niece.'

"Another niece?" Robin said, a smile on his face. "And what about her? Who's she?"

"This is Olympian," Batman offered, putting his hand on her shoulder. "She's a friend of a friend, and now your teammate."

"Who? I've never seen her before in my life!"

"A _friend_ ," Batman finished, the topic clearly no longer up for discussion.

Aqualad stepped toward Roy, much more kind than the others. "You came to us for a reason."

"Yeah, a reason named Dr. Serling Roquette."

"Nano-robotics genius and claytronics expert at Royal University in Star City, vanished two weeks ago," Robin said, clearly fascinated with the topic as he typed away on his holo-glove and a screen appeared in front of them. 

"Abducted two weeks ago," Roy said, "by the League of Shadows."

Hearne felt her spine go straight at the mention of them.

"Whoa," Robin said, the excitement back, "you want us to rescue her from The Shadows?"

"Hardcore," Kid Flash remarked as bumped fists with Robin without looking away from Roy.

"I already rescued her." The redhead walked forward, towards the screen before he clicked a button on a device in his hand that brought up another holographic screen. "Only one problem, The Shadows had already coerced her into making a weapon." The weapon appeared on the screen, a black metal cylinder with a shiny black robotic bug above it. "Doc calls it it 'the Fog. Comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nano-tech infiltrators capable of disintegrating anything in their path." This was _not_ good. "Concrete, steel, flesh, bone."

Hearne wanted to believe that sounded as terrible as it did, but it didn't. Not to her.

"But its true purpose isn't mere destruction. It's theft." Roy looked back to the others in the room, arms crossed. "The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system and deliver the stolen intel to The Shadows. Providing them access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting edge science and tech."

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking," Artemis said, hand on her bow as she recited the goals of the League of Shadows. "Yeah. Sounds like The Shadows."

"Like you know anything about The Shadows," Wally said with a scoff. Artemis gave on look over her shoulder and the smug look on his face fell. "Who are you?"

"Roquette's working on a virus to render the fog inert," Roy said, steering to another topic, clearly trying to get to work instead of foolish bickering.

"But if The Shadows know she can do that--"

"They'll target her," Roy finished, seeming slightly phased by Dick's point. "Right now, she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high school's computer lab."

"You left her alone?" Green Arrow said, saying exactly what everyone else was thinking.

"She's safe enough for now."

"Then let's you and I keep her that way."

"You and I?" Roy's eyes narrowed, the whites of his mask decreasing. "Don't you wanna take your new _protege_?"

Batman stepped forward, put his hand on the other man's shoulder, and exchange a glance that seemed to make Green Arrow understand the moment.

"You brought this to the team," he said, "it's their mission, which means it's her's now, too." He paused. "And her's, too."

Roy scoffed as he walked away. "Then my job's done."

Recognized, Speedy.

"That's Red Arrow, B06. Update."

He disappeared in a flash of white and yellow, leaving behind a recently added-on team and conflicted League members.

Robin glared at Hearne, to which she returned in an intensity that made him look away.

She didn't have to be liked, she didn't have to be wanted. She was doing this because she had to, not because she was meant to.

_* * *_

**_HEARNE SAT IN_** a room with the doctor and the Team, aside from M'gann and Superboy. She'd rather be outside on patrol, but the message was clear when Aqualad ordered her to stay with the doctor. He didn't trust her, and she didn't trust him.

_Everyone online?_

Hearne flinched, the tattoos beneath her suit growing hot.

 _Oh, this is so weird_ , came Artemis' voice, making Hearne's muscles tense even more.

"Do we have to do that?" Hearne asked out loud, forcing her skin to cool. "It's invasive."

"The Shadows will hack our comms," Aqualad said, his eyes meeting hers. "We can't take the risk."

Hearne's lips pressed into a thin line, her veins feeling ice cold as she forced her mind to stay neutral, to not say anything into the link.

 _If you don't want to use it, I have a suggestion_ , Kid Flash said, a smug smile appearing on his lips.

 _Oh, shut up_ , Artemis snapped back, _you can't tell me the first time this happened you didn't care_.

He huffed. _Well, it doesn't matter, I'm not trying to replace anyone_.

This didn't feel right. She wasn't supposed to have people in her head anymore, Athena promised her that. "It'll never happen again," she'd said, "as long as you're with me." Except it was, and Hearne had to stay calm, because it was necessary, and it wasn't like before.

But it could be. They could be trying to find her weakness and attack it.

 _I'm going to patrol_ , Artemis said.

 _Good idea_.

Even Kaldur the Calm wasn't fond of them being there. Hearne wished she could settle this in a fight, but that wouldn't be right. They didn't do things like that.

They continued to talk through the mind link, driving Hearne's nerves farther and farther as she tried to block them out. She knew, if she wanted to, she could do it. But it wouldn't be worth it, she had to listen to them.

She didn't register anything they said until Aqualad announced that M'gann was re-configuring the bioship to take Robin and Superboy to the Fog, which the doctor had located. Of course, she'd zoned out, and missed important discussions. From now on, no matter how bad it was, she would have to listen.

Robin quickly left, leaving only Hearne, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and the doctor. With the absence of Robin, the room had less tension--not none, it certainly wasn't void of it, but not as much as when he was staring at her continuously. 

_You embarrassed Superboy_ , M'gann said, making Hearne's head pick up from its resting place on her hand.

 _I didn't hear him say that_ , Artemis responded.

_Must you challenge everyone?_

_Where I come from, that's how you survive._

Whoever Artemis was, she was definitely affiliated with the League of Shadows in some way. It came off her in waves.

Kid Flash left to stand outside the door and Hearne idly looked at Aqualad's tattoos, only blinkng in response when he caught her staring.

 _They're Atlantean_.

They reminded Hearne of her own, though hers were smaller in size, and burned into her skin. His looked appealing, like they could be decorative instead of their actual use, while hers looked like she was branded. She wouldn't take them back, though, they were who she was.

The door creaked slightly and her eyes immediately caught on it, her body lurching forward as she saw a black object flying towards the doctor. Aqualad reached it first, the object impaling itself into his shoulder before he fell to the ground.

"Doctor," Hearne yelled, shielding her with her own body, "get down!"

Two of the objects lodged themselves into Hearne's arm, making her twitch in pain. A woman stood at the door, a smiling red and white mask on her face, carrying a sai in each hand, with wild black hair that gave her a much more intimidating appearance.

The woman raced forward, the smile on her mask seeming to stretch with her movements. "Hmm. That had to hurt."

Hearne could feel it starting to take effect, but she pushed it back, the tattoos on her skin growing hot as she put her arms in a defensive position. "I'm immune."

The woman swiped one of her sai forward, but Hearne was too fast--faster than the average human--and kicked the woman back, sending her in a flip over a desk.

Aqualad got to his feet beside her, picking the object-- _a shuriken_ \--out of his skin.

 _We're under attack_ , Hearne said, her irises growing black, _we're under attack in the computer lab, trained masked assailant_.

On our way, Artemis responded, within seconds.

Aqualad's blue blade met the woman's as Hearne threw a punch to the woman's side, to which she dodged, and Hearne kicked her leg backward.

The masked woman cried out, stumbling before she regained her balance and launched herself forward, her feet colliding into Aqualad's chest, her sai flying towards the doctor.

Hearne's hand shot out, narrowly managing to grab the sai before it hit the doctor, as Aqualad crashed into the ground.

"Poison slowin' you down?"

"I'm largely immune," he responded, his blade meeting hers as he tried to push her back into a desk.

Hearne lept forward, vaulting herself off the ground, making the woman roll to the side as Aqualad attempted to slash at her.

_You were supposed to stab her!_

His eyes widened in alarm, surprised by the sentence, as Hearne scrambled to her feet, her arms out to her sides. "Let's finish this."

She was aware of Aqualad's movements towards the woman, but Hearne ignored them as she kicked off a desk, her legs wrapping around the woman's shoulders to cut off her air.

The masked woman stumbled, her hands frantically pulling at the thighs around her neck before she dropped onto her back, making Hearne gasp out in pain before she grabbed the woman's ankle, pulling her back down to the ground before she could fully regain her footing. They struggled on the ground, slamming each other down, their heads cracking against the floor and desks until Aqualad's foot rammed into the woman's side, sending her into the cement wall.

Hearne got to her feet, her head aching, as she braced herself.

Aqualad went to take another slice at the woman, making her brace her throw one last poisoned shuriken to hit him directly in the chest.

Hearne reacted before she could think, jumping into the air and kicking off a desk with one foot, flipping sideways to bring her foot down across the woman's face, making her head slam into the wall behind her, her body slipping down the wall.

She landed, poised, but before she could move forward to grab the woman, the room filled with smoke, and Hearne did her best to strain her ears, but even with her advanced hearing, there was no sound but the hissing of the smoke.

As it cleared, she rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding Aqualad's attempt to cut through the woman who'd fled in the smoke. She got up out of her kneeling position, her tattoos burning intensely hot for a brief moment until her pain disappeared. 

She stood there, silently seething, as the others filed into the room.

"Where are they? You said someone was here!" Kid Flash yelled, looking around, like they'd pop out of the corner.

"They're gone," Hearne said, plucking the shuriken out of her arm. "She's skilled, professionally trained. She works for the League of Shadows, or with them. She's too skilled to be a one-time hire."

"And you just let her go?" Kid Flash turned to Artemis, outraged. "This is all your fault! You were on perimeter, and you were in here with her!"

"That's not really fair," M'gann said as Artemis' eyes narrowed, "I was outside, too."

"I was here, too," Aqualad said, clearly ashamed that he'd let her get away. "The blame is on all of us."

Hearne's jaw locked tight, the feeling of energy coiling in her filling her once more. She pushed it down with a cool, calming breath.

"Robin to Aqualad," Robin said, his voice coming through the speakers by the computer, "we're over Philadelphia. We've located The Shadows next target. Star Labs." His voice turned grim with shock. "We're too late. It's destroyed. Totally destroyed. The Fog decimated it." Kid Flash paced back and forth. "This is bad. Star Labs is cutting edge science and now their secrets are in the hands of the enemy. What's our next move?"

"Rescan for that Fog," Aqualad said, locking eyes with the doctor for a brief moment. "Find it. We're moving the doctor."

He looked at Hearne, one last time, and she could see what he meant: she wasn't what he expected.

_* * *_

**_HEARNE WAS WITH_** Aqualad, upon his suggestion that it'd be for the better. Though, she was sure he didn't want her and Artemis alone in the same room.

She could feel the tension between Kid Flash and Artemis through the mind link and, thankfully, Aqualad chose to speak first.

 _Stop it, both of you_.

 _What?_ they both said, in unison.

 _I can hear you glaring_.

"Miss Martian," he said aloud, "stay in camouflage mode and make a wide perimeter sweep." On cue, rustling in a tree sounded behind them, and Hearne steeled her nerves into a blade of their own. She'd screwed up on the last attack, the thought of going too far had made her miss her opportunities. She was never trained to fight to capture, she was trained to kill. Every move she knew furthered the blood in the ring. Even with Athena's training, that part of Hearne would never cease to exist.

Aqualad disappeared from beside her, into the tree above, with a yell. Hearne looked up, muscles coiled and fists poised for the second she saw the person. Going up into the tree would be foolish, a blind spot that she could wait for them to come out of.

Within seconds, Aqualad flew past her, a yell of pain echoing through the air as he crashed into a white van on the road.

She took off after a man in a purple suit, anger burning in her veins as they went after Aqualad. They were a _coward_ to ignore her, she would make them pay for turning down a fight.

 _No, she had to play by their rules_. Like Athena said, no killing, no crossing the line.

But what was the line?

As a man with white hair and a metal appendage began to drop down from the sky, towards Aqualad, Hearne reached the teenager, and with one forceful leap and kick off of the van, her fist collided directly into his jaw, knocking him down into the pavement with a _crack_.

She landed on the ground with a kneel, ignoring Aqualad's scuffle with the man in the purple suit as she closed in on the other enemy.

He stood, a smug grin on his face at the prospect of fighting someone, and she could now see a metal hook on his arm. 

"That's quite a punch," he remarked, his jaw popping awfully loud as he flexed it. With a smirk, the man's hook shot forward, a chain connecting it to the base of his arm, and Hearne rolled to the side, the sound of metal crunching and glass filling her ears as the hook hit the van.

The man jerked his arm, panic quickly seeping into his features as it dawned on him that his hook had become stuck in the van.

Hearne raced forward, the sound of quick, lithe footsteps sounding over blade's clashing. With one harsh, forceful yank, the chain broke free and snapped in half with a ear-piercing noise. The man's eyes widened as he froze in place, unable to move as she slung the chain forward and the hook collided with his chest. He flew back, sliding against the rough pavement, with nothing more than a pained groan.

He was out cold and undoubtedly wouldn't wake up for a while without a bit of medical help. It could have been worse, Hearne purposely didn't pull the chain hard enough that he'd be thrown forward and the hook would have hit him square in the forehead. Even though she nearly did, she didn't.

Aqualad ran up to her, out of breath, now sporting a cut on his cheekbone that was bleeding down the side of his face.

"You let him get away," she stated, lips twisted in disapproval.

"He was called away," Aqualad said, bristling at the tone of her voice. "I did not expect him to do what he did."

"He's over there," Hearne said, glancing towards the unconscious form of the now-hookless man. "He's out cold, he'll be unbalanced without his hand, like a fragile faun. He isn't an issue anymore."

"You . . . took his arm off?"

"Hook," she corrected, "it isn't his arm. It doesn't matter, we have to find the other man and the woman with the sai. The woman is the threat, not them."

Kaldur nodded, walking swiftly beside her. "Do you have experience with people like them?"

She kept her exterior passive. "Yes. I know how these people operate. I know if we don't stop them, or the Fog soon, the doctor will be dead in the next three minutes."

That didn't seem to ease his mind as much as she thought it would. Having a time-frame always eased her mind.

"You 'pulled your punches,'" Kaldur said, saying the phrase like he didn't know how quite to use it. "Why?"

"The person that sent me here told me to behave," Hearne explained. "To play by your rules. And I will, which means not using all of my abilities."

Kaldur was silent until they reached the stop between the doctor and where the decoy was. "Use them. Hold back in the way you need to, not the way you think you need to."

Her eyebrows pinched together as he ran off and she did her best to push down the feelings that those words created as she ran towards the decoy. She should have gone to the doctor, she knew that, but Kaldur wouldn't have let her. If she needed to, she could have finished him, but she couldn't. Right now, she had to play by their rules.

Foolish, naive rules, but theirs nonetheless.

She kicked the door open, nearly breaking it off its hinge as she sprinted into the room. The woman in the mask and the other man were there, trying to fight off Artemis and Kid Flash. The woman's head snapped up once the door hit the wall, immediately flipping away from Kid Flash in response to the intrusion.

"The halfling's here!" she yelled. "Finish this!"

As Hearne kicked the man square in the chest, sending him flying backward into a pew of chairs, the woman vaulted over the desk towards M'gann, who was disguised as the doctor.

The man got up, the eyes of his masks narrowed in pain as he shot a thin line of red from his hands—a web, of some sort—which Hearne dodged. Before Hearne could move forward, an arrow lodged itself into the man's shoulder, and her jaw tightened in anger. She _had_ that. If these people weren't here, she could have done all of this on her own. But no, she had to play by their rules.

"I had that," she said, her eyes fixed on the blonde in front of her.

"Yeah, I did too. But I did it _faster_."

Hearne had to bite her tongue to hold back the remarks she wanted to make, the ones that would point out every single one of Artemis' flaws in combat. This was stupid. Why did she have to play by their rules? She wasn't trained for that. She wasn't good at a "no kill" combat.

She knew the woman in the mask was gone, she was foolish to think that Kid Flash and M'gann could handle this. They didn't deserve her trust for a task like this, and they'd wasted it.

Kid Flash cursed, pacing back and forth.

"You tried," M'gann assured him, "you almost had her."

Hearne doubted he did. Somehow, even with superspeed, he wasn't at his full potential. Pathetic.

She'd managed to burn through most of the toxin, and even with the energy that had body had been stockpiling for years, it didn't mean she was immune like she said. She was _definitely_ starting to feel the effects. Her head was pounding and she felt like throwing up, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle.

"Everyone alright?" M'gann asked, her tone polite despite the recent events.

"I'm fine," Kid Flash muttered, still hurt over the fact he hadn't caught the woman.

"Fine."

"I'm fine," Hearne said, keeping her voice calm and easy. "But the woman's going after the doctor, she knows we tricked her. It's now or never." Her eyebrows twinged as a wave of pain shot through her brain. "Go for her head, not her legs. She's quick on her feet and good with her sai, but always leaves it open."

Artemis nodded, thankful for the information, and the two of them took off on foot while Kid Flash and M'gann dealt with the two knocked-out enemies. While Hearne was faster than Artemis for reasons that would never change, Artemis managed to keep her pace behind her.

Hearne stopped short, gesturing for Artemis to continue forward as she looked into the woods. 

_A pair of eyes were staring back at her_.

Faster than before, she sprinted into the woods, tearing through the brush as it scratched at her face, her path creating a ruckus. Her heart hammered in her chest, at rhythm with her head, as she came to a stop, eyes narrowed as she turned in a slow circle, arms poised defensively.

No one. Whoever she saw was long gone, no doubt leaving as soon as she started running.

But whoever it was was faster than her, fast enough to outrun her.

That wasn't good, not at all.

By the time Hearne made it back, the woman was gone, and the doctor was safe beside the team, minus Robin and Superboy, who she assumed had neutralized the Fog already. 

Kid Flash and Artemis shook hands, all eyes turning to Hearne as she reached them, now sporting small cuts on her face from the branches.

"Woah, what happened to you?" Kid Flash asked. "It looks like you got into a fight with a cat."

"Nothing, I just thought I saw something. Probably like you said, a cat."

"Well," Aqualad greeted, sticking his hand out, "welcome to the team, Olympian. You did good work today."

She nodded, shaking his hand firmly. "So did you, Aqualad."

"Call me Kaldur'ahm," he said, giving one last shake before he let go of her hand. "But my friends call me Kaldur."

Hearne smiled slightly. "Call me Olympia, then, it's easier on the tongue."

Wally huffed, breaking the moment between the two. "Is your name really Olympian? That sounds like a terrible name."

"It's Olympian to you," she answered. "Olympian is what I'm called."

He threw his hands up. "Great, two mysteries on the team now!"

Kaldur's lips quirked in a small smile, like he was trying to say 'you'll get used to it' in his own way.

Hearne, for a brief moment, thought she would. Then it was squashed by reality: she was not supposed to get close to anyone, it was foolish and weak.

And Hearne Fowler _wasn't_ foolish or weak.


	3. Outmatching Legacy

**HEARNE HAD GOTTEN ON GOOD TERMS WITH THE TEAM.** Not great, since she'd appeared out of nowhere, and, unlike Artemis, didn't have common interests like television shows or recent media moments. Above that, Kid Flash (now, Wally, since he'd gotten angry at her for only calling him by his alter ego) didn't like her one bit. Because his best friend, Robin, absolutely despised her.

It wasn't her fault Batman never told Robin about her. How was she supposed to know he wouldn't? By now, she knew Batman had given Robin a flimsy excuse, only the things he knew about her, and that it didn't suffice for Robin, and he was no doubt trying to find answers.

The thought was funny to Hearne. Because unlike Robin, she didn't wear sunglasses indoors to hide her identity. She didn't have to do anything. All she had to do was go by a different name, because according to the world's filthiest criminals, Hearne Fowler had died five years ago in a blazing explosion. 

Robin's hidden anger at not finding answers was amusing to her. 

It had been just over a week since their last mission, to protect Doctor Roquette, and Hearne had split her time between Athena and the Cave. The Cave was nice, but she preferred the middle-of-nowhere farmhouse with the dozens of tomcats and the old, tired dog in the cow pasture.

But while she was at the Cave, she kept that to herself. They didn't need to know which place she preferred, or where she spent the rest of her time. All she had told M'gann when asked was "home," even though she didn't consider it that.

Kaldur and Superboy were currently sparring, and Hearne could tell Kaldur was the more skilled of the two.

"Kaldur's, uh, nice, don't you think?" Artemis asked, looking to Hearne. "Handsome. Commanding." M'gann blinked, like the description was entirely unlike what she thought of him. "You should totally ask him out."

"I don't . . . ask people out," Hearne said, her lip twitching at the word. "Besides that, Kaldur is Kaldur. I don't think he would say yes to anyone."

"You know who would make a cute couple?" M'gann said with a smile, her eyes fixed on Artemis. "You and Wally." 

Wally undoubtedly liked Artemis. It reeked off of him in waves.

"You're so full of passion, and he's so full of . . . uh, of . . ."

"It?" Artemis suggested.

The two laughed while Hearne watched Kaldur and Superboy, her eyes widening to the smallest degree as Superboy hooked his ankle around Kaldur's and flung him to the ground.

 _Failed, Aqualad_ , the computer voiced.

"Black Canary taught me that," Superboy announced, seeming proud of himself. Hearne wanted to point out that it'd taken him much too long to use the move, but she didn't.

As Superboy helped Kaldur up, Red Tornado came down through the port in the ceiling, where his room was.

Wally sped forward, his shirt tail floating behind him. "Do you have a mission for us?"

"Mission assignments are The Batman's responsibility," the android stated.

"Yeah, well, The Batman's with The Robin, doing the dynamic duo thing in Gotham." Didn't he know you couldn't persuade an android? "But you're headed somewhere, right? Hot date, or a-a mission?"

"If we can be of help," Kaldur said, but Hearne could tell he was itching to do something else.

Red Tornado turned around and began typing into the keyboard, a series of holographic screens presenting themselves, displaying statistics, information, and a picture of an old man in a suit with a cane.

"This is Kent Nelson, a friend." Hearne had heard of him. "He is 106 years old."

Wally put his hand beside his mouth and whispered to Artemis. "Guy doesn't look a day over ninety."

"And he has been missing for twenty-three days." No one just 'goes missing' for twenty-three days. "Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, the precursor to your mentors' Justice League."

"Of course," Kaldur said, looking at the picture of Nelson, now dawning a golden suit of armor. "Nelson was Earth's sorcerer supreme. He was Doctor Fate."

"Kent may simply be on one of his walkabouts," Red Tornado said. "But he is caretaker of the helmet of fate the source of the doctor's mystic might. And it is unwise to leave such power unguarded."

"He's like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses of Mars," M'gann said, seemingly in awe of his picture. "I would be honored to help find him."

Wally's hand shot up in the air. "Me too. _So_ honored I can barely stand it." He put his hands in a rock hand gesture. "Magic rocks."

Red Tornado help up a golden key, of course unbothered by Wally's horrendous attempts at flirting. "Take this, it is the key to the tower fate.

"What is the chances we both so admire the mystic arts?" Wally said, which made M'gann sigh.

"I would suggest you leave soon," Red Tornado prodded, "time might be of the essence."

"He is right," Kaldur agreed, "we should hurry."

Hearne nodded curtly, dismissing herself amongst the others as she left to suit up.

None of the were wearing their suits, as the occasion didn't call for it, but that didn't mean weapons wouldn't be needed. She had decided ever since her awful failure on their first mission she wouldn't make the mistake of not bringing any (as long as they followed the Team's clear-cut unsaid rules). Twin knives strapped on her ankle under her jeans, and a curved metal dagger that compacted with the press of the hilt and a small flood of warmth through her palms.

After that was done, she sat on her knees, neck bent slightly as she shut her eyes, hands formed into a praying gesture.

After nearly a minute, she stood, her joints feeling much looser, her muscles relaxed. Praying always had that effect on her. For some in her family, it hardened their will, smoothed their resolve, but for her, it put her at ease, like the gods themselves had laid her to rest.

It was the closest thing Hearne ever got to knowing what "peace" felt like.

She wondered if, one day, praying wouldn't be enough to spare her soul.

_* * *_

**_HEARNE SAT IN_** the chair she always did, behind Robin's empty one. The seats were comfortable, though the glow of the ship was something she could do without.

"So, Wally," Artemis wondered, "when did you first realize your honest affinity for sorcery?"

"Well," he said, "I-I don't like to brag, but, uh, before I became Kid Flash I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."

Hearne scoffed silently to herself. Wally wouldn't know what to do with himself if he met an actual wizard.

"We've reached Tornado's coordinates," M'gann announced, "but . . ."

"Nothing's there," Superboy finished.

"Take us down."

Hearne agreed with Kaldur's suggestion. She didn't doubt Red Tornado was right, it wasn't her first experience with disappearing homes, but she was nearly certain it was theirs.

After they got out, Wally did a quick sprint around, but of course, once he came back, it was obvious.

"Nothing." He didn't seem to understand. "This isn't simple camouflage."

"So what do you think?" Artemis asked. "Adaptive microopto-electronics combined with phase shifting?"

" _Absolutely_ ," Wally said, switching once M'gann approached, ". . . not. Clearly mystic powers are at work here."

"A test of faith." Kaldur looked down to the key in his hand. "Stand behind me."

He walked forward, sticking his arm out, a small noise echoing as the key disappeared partially and turned.

Right in front of them, inches away from Kaldur, a square brick building formed out of nowhere. Without an ounce of hesitation, Kaldur turned the key more and pushed, the door creaking open, Hearne the first to follow directly behind him.

"Uh, where'd the door go?"

A holographic video of Nelson materialized in front of Hearne and Kaldur, making her muscles tense.

"Greetings." Kaldur exchanged a glance with her. "You have entered with a key but the tower does not recognize some of you. Please state your purpose and intent."

"Some?" Wally voiced. "M'gann, are you a sorcerer too?"

"Um, I don't think so . . ."

With that, Wally walked forward, and Hearne tried to grab his sleeve before he started talking. "We are true believers here to find Doctor Fate."

His face fell as Nelson disappeared, and Hearne's heart sunk with it.

"You idiot," she hissed as the floor began to creak, "think before you speak!"

As the floor beneath them cracked, Hearne wrapped her arm around Kaldur's middle and pushed with as much force as she could, clearing the missing floor as the others fell.

Kaldur's eyes were wide as he looked at her, his heart beating fast against her chest.

"Thank you."

She nodded, helping him stand as they got to their feet. 

"Kaldur!" Artemis yelled from below. "Hearne!"

The two hurried over to the edge, warmth hitting them square in the face as they saw the magma below.

"How do we get them out?"

"Answer the question, Kaldur," she said. "None of you answered the question." When he blinked at her, confused, she huffed. "I can't answer the question for reasons I can't explain. You, however, can answer it and save them from a miserable death."

"Red Tornado sent us!" he yelled, cupping his hands to his mouth. "On the order to see if Kent Nelson and the helmet were safe!"

Relief flooded Hearne as a metal floor closed over the lava and Superboy began to climb upward safely before hopping down onto it. M'gann and Wally dropped down while Artemis trailed down with her grappling hook.

Without warning, Hearne wrapped her arm around Kaldur's middle once more and dropped down into the chasm, a small sting in her feet as she landed Wally.

"This platform," Kaldur said, bending down to touch it, "it should be red hot but it is cool to the touch."

Hearne bent down beside him, her hand pressed right beside his. "Take a wild guess."

"Enough!" Artemis yelled, making Hearne's head shoot up to see her hand pushing Wally against the wall. "Your little 'Impress Megan at all costs' game nearly got us all barbecued!"

"When did this all become my fault?"

"When you lied to that whatever it was and called yourself a true believer."

"Wally," M'gann said, surprised, "you don't believe?"

"Fine! Fine!" He was agitated now. "I lied about believing in magic. But magic is the real lie, a major load."

"Wally," Kaldur said, "I studied for a year at the Conservatory Of Sorcery in Atlantis. The mystic arts created the skin icons that power my water bearers."

"Dude, have you ever heard of bioelectricity?" Wally was getting defensive now, they didn't have time for this. "Hey, in primitive cultures fire was once considered magical, too. Today it's all just a bunch of tricks."

"You're pretty close-minded for a guy who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers," Artemis argued.

"That's science," he stated. "I recreated the Flash's laboratory experiment and here I am." Hearne wanted to punch the sarcasm out of his tone. "Everything can be explained by science."

Hearne scoffed, loudly enough that it caught everyone's attention. "It's funny, almost. You think everything in this world can be explained by science? That the _League_ can be explained by science?"

"Well, yeah, that's what I said."

Her eyes narrowed, anger building within her as Kaldur spoke, trying his best to cut the tension. "Let us test that theory."

He began to open the small door on the bottom of the platform as Wally yelled in protest, saying that the back-draft from the lava would kill them--except there wasn't any lava, and they were met with flurries of snow bouncing into their face, snow dunes peaking below the door.

"It's snow," M'gann said, amazed.

"Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" Artemis asked smugly. 

Hearne dropped down, landing in a kneel as Kaldur and M'gann came quickly behind, followed by Wally and Artemis. They landed standing up, the door spitting them out correctly instead of like they were falling, something that brought back memories that ached deep within her.

"Well?" Artemis said.

"Ever hear of string theory?" Wally proposed. "We're in a pocket dimension."

"Wally," Hearne said, "if you don't stop, I will put _you_ in a pocket dimension."

"Oh, please, like you even could!"

She stepped forward, Kaldur's hand resting on her shoulder. "We don't have time for this. If we want to get out and find Nelson and the helmet, you have to stop being foolish."

"Guys, look," M'gann said, catching their attention and making them look in her direction. "What's that?"

A cane-- _Nelson's cane_ \--sat floating a few inches above the snow, the bottom encased in icicles.

"Ooh," Wally mused, "maybe it's Nelson's magic wand."

He sped forward, his hand wrapping around it just as Artemis' did, and Hearne's eyes widened as she lunged forward. " _Let go of the cane!_ "

But she was too late, because as the two tried to let it go, they soared into the air, their yells echoing through the snow banks before the vanished in a flash of bright yellow light.

Hearne stood there, the shock dismissing immediately as she turned back to what was left of the team.

"There's an exit somewhere," Hearne said, tugging her jacket tighter around herself. "There always is. We just have to find it."

If she needed to, with a great amount of effort, she could get herself out of there. But she had to play by their rules. And as long as everything went smoothly, she would.

They began to walk, unsure of where exactly they were going, Superboy and M'gann talking quietly. Or rather standing near each other in a way that Hearne hated. Couldn't they just admit they liked each other? It was gross.

"You know magic," Kaldur stated, "you know how it works."

Her lips pursed. "I do."

"Are you a magician? A sorceress?"

"Neither," she answered, staring forward as he studied her face. "What I am isn't important, it doesn't effect the task at hand. But, yes, I know magic."

"Is that how you become stronger?" he asked. "You are like Superboy, but . . . different."

"I'm nothing like Superboy," Hearne said, an edge to her tone. "I'm not what he is. I'm what I am, just as you are what you are."

Kaldur nodded, taking that for an answer, understanding that she wouldn't budge any further.

"I don't understand Wally," M'gann said, loud enough for all of them to hear over the wind. "It's almost like he needs to believe the impossible can't happen."

"Wally uses his understanding of science to control what he cannot comprehend," Kaldur explained. "Acknowledging the existence of magic would be to relinquish the last vestige of that control."

A nearby creaking caught Hearne's attention, her head snapping towards the noise, eyes narrowed at a door atop a mountain in front of them.

"That's . . . interesting."

Superboy nodded to M'gann's comment, wordlessly trudging towards the door, the others following quickly behind.

Kaldur didn't shiver, but Hearne could tell the cold bothered him. Atlanteans couldn't stand the heat, and they could certainly withstand the cold better than the average human, but even Aquaman himself wouldn't be fond of snow and open-toed shoes.

Kaldur caught her staring at his feet and offered his version of a shrug. "The cold is not inviting."

She nodded, understanding perfectly, and placed her hand on his. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion before his eyes widened as warmth traveled from her hand to his and flowed through him.

He blinked in surprise, shocked at the display.

Hearne kept walking forward, ignoring his surprise. "It wasn't personal. I don't want to be fighting with someone who has frostbite, it'd be a hazard to us all."

Kaldur nodded, the smallest smile adorning his lips as they reached the door.

"So," M'gann said, swallowing thickly, "do we just . . .?"

Hearne ignored her hesitation, turned the knob, and stepped right through the door.

Quickly, as she began to fall forward, she positioned herself and landed in a rolling kneel, her knees aching at the forceful fall.

The others came behind, grunting at the fall, all except M'gann, who floated down gracefully.

They stood in a vast room, endless, with thousands of staircases leading up, down, sideways--any way imaginable. A big, brass bell sat in front of her, Nelson and Wally standing beside it, looking like he hadn't disappeared out of thin air.

As Artemis helped Superboy up, a crack echoed through the air, a bolt of blue electricity landing beside Nelson and Wally.

Hearne rolled to the side, heat falling over her as the ground where she previously stood smoldered.

Nelson hit the bell with his cane, a ring echoing throughout the pocket dimension. Without wasting a second, they ran into the bell, leaving behind the rest of the team.

Hearne stood, eyes narrowed on the man that her family had always called Abra.

She unhooked the hilt of the dagger from her belt loop, the dagger elongating fully in her hand. Abra cocked his head before his eyes widened at the realization of what was in her hand.

Quickly, he began to fire upon them, and Hearne rolled to the side each time, slowly moving closer to the man as the others failed to make any distance.

"Watch out!" Artemis yelled.

Hearne attempted to roll to the side, but the bolt hit her square in the chest, knocking her to the ground as she shook, her eyes shut tight as her tattoos burned like the sun.

In an instant, it was over, and she stood, her eyes fixed on Abra, the curved dagger in her hand glowing black.

Abra took a step backward, firing two bolts at once, one eliciting a cry from M'gann far behind her and the other missing Hearne by a foot.

With one firm push, Hearne vaulted towards Abra, clearing the empty air below her and landing on his staircase.

"Your people are dead," he yelled. "Your people are extinct!"

Hearne smirked, an awful, predatory smirk. "Are we, Abra?"

The curve of her dagger touched his skin, making his back arch as he fell to the ground, eyes rolling back in his head before his body stopped convulsing and went limp.

Her lip twitched angrily and she sheathed her dagger, staring down with disgust at the man below her.

He had such potential, years ago, but he wasted it on the bratty witch boy Klarion.

She stood there, eyes narrowed on the man, before a large hand settled on her shoulder. She could tell who it was without even looking.

"Good work, Olympia."

Hearne turned away from the man to face Kaldur, suddenly realizing how he had nearly eight inches on her.

"Thank you."

Wally appeared a moment later, looking winded with the helmet in hand, and Hearne felt like a weight had been placed on her chest.

Because no matter how far she ran, or how hard she fought, her family's legacy would always outmatch her.


	4. Avenge the Empire

**HEARNE HAD BEEN HAVING A NICE DAY.** A good, relaxed day. She had spent the past two days with Athena, enjoying the time that she'd lacked recently. But it was Athena's idea to spend more time with the Team, to try to "bond" with them.

She didn't care about bonding with the Team. She wouldn't. She didn't make friends, not with them, not with anyone else. She wouldn't. It didn't make any sense to spend her time at the Cave, but Athena suggested it, and Hearne did what she said.

They had been watching a documentary, one on the crimes of a United States president, when Athena's phone rang. She held up a finger in apology as she took the call, the calm composure of her face slipping away.

"It's Bruce," she said, "he needs you."

"Now?"

Athena nodded as she hung up the phone. "Take the Zeta to Gotham, and hurry. Your team's in trouble."

"They're not my team."

Quickly, Hearne changed into her suit, the skin of her freshly-applied tattoo aching as the fabric ran over it. She grabbed her curved dagger as an afterthought, deciding that it was the best weapon she owned for this situation, and sprinted out of the house without a word to Athena.

The Zeta-Tube greeted her as she stepped into the other side, the warm streets of Gotham meeting her.

Her muscles tensed as Batman dropped down beside her, soundlessly against the pavement.

"Why didn't you call me beforehand?" she hissed, eyes narrowed on the man.

"I wanted to give you and Athena time alone, I thought they could handle it."

"They're children, they can't handle anything."

They climbed up a fire escape ladder on the side of a building, reaching a glass-paned skylight that looked down into a warehouse below.

"You know they don't trust you," he said, "not like they should."

"They shouldn't," she stated. "We're not a team, we're not friends."

"Maybe you should be."

The enemy stood below the skylight, a muddy creature, approaching Aqualad who sat on the ground, the others limply laying on the ground to the side.

"I'll drop down, throw disks that will blow his arm. You come down after, target his other arm." He looked toward the dagger in her hand. "Can that doesn't anything else?"

"It can blow an arm off," she answered vaguely, "go."

Batman dropped down, the glass breaking beneath him as two disks hit the enemy square in the arm. The mud of his arm splatting against the walls.

Hearne dropped down shortly after, landing in a kneeling position, the tattoo on her arm growing hot beneath her suit as her dagger glowed black.

The enemy roared, the sound echoing in her ears, before she slid under it, digging her dagger into its body, mid toppling to the floor behind her.

Batman's taser struck the creature square in the chest, and it roared in a defeated, angry way as it melted into nothing but brown sludge on the floor.

"I told you to go for the arm."

"It wasn't as efficient."

Hearne looked from the passed out members of the Team to Kaldur.

"We had difficulties," he explained.

"I can see that." She outstretched her hand, to which he hesitantly took. "I'm not going to stab you for taking my hand, Kaldur."

"You can never be careful enough."

Hearne smoked slightly at that, but it quickly went away once she realized what she was doing, and she helped Kaldur up off the ground.

"Help me wake them up."

Hearne wordlessly complied, pinching each of them on the base of their neck to wake them up, while Kaldur opted for shaking them gently.

"Ow!" Robin's masked eyes fixed on her, narrowed to several degrees. "Was that necessary?"

"It was a pinch," she scoffed, getting to her feet with ease. "I could have done more."

His lips curled back, like he was going to yell something at her, but they pressed together tightly instead as he stood.

"Give Boy Wonder some time," Artemis said from beside her, sounding a bit out of breath. "He doesn't like the whole 'Batman respects you' thing."

"He respects him, too," Hearne said, watching Robin's sulking retreating figure. "But he doesn't think of me like his child, he wants to protect me, but that connection isn't there. So he treats me like more of an equal than he does Robin."

"That's . . . I think you should tell him that."

Hearne blinked, sheathing her dagger with a small shake of her head. "He should figure that out on his own, or defeats his path if I do it."

Artemis stood there, looking surprised, before she smiled and clapped Hearne on the back, making her tense. "You are _so_ weird."

Batman cast one look at her, an unsure, weary look, before he led them towards the Zeta-Tube, where they filed in, one after the other, the computer announcing each of their arrivals.

"This stuff is _so_ gross," Wally said with a grimace, shaking his hand, making some of the brown mud-like substance splat onto the floor from his fingers.

Artemis' face pinched together at that, scoffing at his acts.

"I need to talk to Aqualad," Batman said, "the rest of you hit the showers and head home."

The Team started to walk forward, Connor offering a 'I am home' passive aggressively as he passed, while Hearne stood there, eyebrows pinched together as she looked at Batman.

"You can . . . do what you like," Batman said, faltering as he realized he stood in three different places: manager of the Team, a sort-of boyfriend to Athena, and knowing that Hearne didn't give a shit. "You have no obligation here, but I suggest you try to speak with the team."

Her lip twitched in disdain. "Why? We perform the missions . . . well enough."

"Our missions," Batman corrected, "you're part of the Team. You should act like it."

Hearne challenged his glare for a moment, walking away after a few moments, knowing that he was too prideful and would stand there all day until she looked away. Stupid men and their superiority complexes.

She didn't want to spend time with the Team. She saw the point, the one that Batman wanted her to reach, the one that Athena wanted her to reach. But it was pointless. Hearne had joined the team solely because she hadn't had a long-term outlet to release her rapidly-building energy and this happened to be the closest thing to the proper one. She didn't join to make friends, nor be a member of a team.

But she understood she would have to. She didn't want to, but she'd blend in. Twist and mold herself into what they needed to believe she was for things to go smoothly. She could do that without a problem. By no means was she looking forward to it, though.

Her lips pressed together firmly as she realized she didn't seem to be doing much 'looking forward' lately. Or in the past few years. Hearne forced herself to stop thinking about it once she realized she wasn't sure what 'looking forward to' meant.

Artemis waved her over, and Hearne obliged, even though the exchange made something strange bubble up in her chest. Artemis had waved enthusiastically, even with a bit of a smile, like she genuinely wanted the other girl's company for something.

Hearne wanted to squash it beneath her foot. 

"Look, Kaldur's leaving . . . why would he be leaving?" She looked over to Hearne questioningly. "You were there longer than all of us, did Batman say anything?"

"He wanted to talk to Kaldur," she stated. "We all know why?"

"Oh my god, he's kicking him off the Team," Artemis whispered, her eyes wide.

Hearne scoffed. "He's not kicking Kaldur off of the Team. Batman talked to him about whether or not he could lead this team."

Neither had stated it, but it was easy to read the room. She'd known Batman would do that as soon as they arrived and she saw the mess that laid before them.

"Kaldur's a great leader," Artemis said, walking away from the window, her face pinched together defensively. "The guy doesn't have a selfish bone in his body." She stopped her short pacing and turned to Hearne. "Do you think he'd actually leave the Team? For good?"

Hearne thought for a moment before she answered. "I don't know enough about him, he's a complex person. But if he does, it's the right choice for him, because this Team means the world to him."

Artemis nodded. "You're right. I can't ask Kaldur to stay, I've only known him a week. And everyone else is his friends, if he leaves, he's sure it's the right choice."

She nodded. It wasn't her concern, but she believed it. Because Kaldur was incredibly wise despite being only sixteen. He could be naive, but not nearly as much as his peers. The Team meant so much to him, a new world he had clearly been craving to call his own. If he left, and left behind the friends he had become attached to, he would know it was the right choice.

"Thanks, Olympia."

As Artemis walked there, Hearne stood, slightly stunned. She hadn't expected that. She had told them to call her Olympia, she remembered that, but it wasn't supposed to be in such a friendly way. Not like she was just another team member. She wasn't part of the Team.

Except they thought she was, so they were treating her like one.

Hearne didn't want them to. It made her feel like more of an alien than she'd ever felt.

_* * *_

**_HEARNE FINALLY HAD_** her first run-in with Connor, one where it was just the two of them, and Hearne was not happy to be in that moment.

"It's Olympian, right?"

She nodded. "Superboy."

"Connor," he offered, though she could tell it still didn't feel right on his tongue. "Is Olympian your real name?"

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "Do you think it's my real name?"

He frowned. "I wasn't sure, some people have strange names . . . your name's after a group of Greek gods, Artemis is named after one of them, I didn't know if that was a name, too."

"It isn't," Hearne said, trying to tone down the harshness in her voice. "At least, I have never heard it."

"You don't like your real name?" he asked. "Or are you like Robin?"

"I'm . . . I guess I would be like Robin," she answered. "I don't want people knowing who I am."

"You don't wear a mask."

"You don't, either."

"But I didn't--" He stopped talking, realizing her point: she was like him, she didn't have an identity for them to trace her to. She wasn't like Artemis, who was sure no one could crack who her identity was (which, was foolish, because Hearne had figured it out three days before entirely). She didn't have an identity to be traced to.

Not really, not unless you have the right connections to ask. Even then, the last record of her was a nine-year-old who had died in a bombing.

They sat in silence, her book long beside her long forgotten.

She wondered if the mask wasn't necessary anymore. Yes, people still knew who she was, and there was a target painted on the back of her head as long as they knew she was alive. So far, Abra was taken care of, and the secret would get nowhere. But if people knew she was alive, would there really be a risk? What risk was there anymore?

"I made cookies!" M'gann announced from the kitchen, making Hearne's shoulders tense as she was snapped out of her daze. "Chocolate chip. I think. They look orange, that doesn't seem right."

Hearne sat there as Connor left to test the orange cookies, wondering what the point was anymore. Who cared if they knew where she was? People like Abra and the ones above him would be children playing in a sandbox. And if the monsters came out to play, Hearne would make sure the one threat to the Fowler empire was wiped out.

In due time, Hearne would avenge her family. When the time was right, they and their spawn would pay.


	5. No Obligations

**WHEN HEARNE WOKE UP, HER HEAD WAS POUNDING.** The sun was up, glaring down on her, making her forehead bead with sweat.

Sand dunes were all around her, sand littered on her clothes, itching numbly against her skin. She couldn't see anything but distant rock formations. It was midday, maybe, possibly later. She couldn't exactly tell, she'd figure out where she was and what time in a moment.

And what was this outfit she was wearing? It looked like a hero's costume. Hearne had never seen it before in her life.

The last thing she remembered was saying goodnight to Athena, staying up to read her book, and that was all. 

This was a nightmare, that was all.

Except she knew this wasn't a nightmare. This was real, undoubtedly real, and somehow she wasn't in the grassy hills of Georgia.

If _they_ did this, she was going to lose her mind. She would hunt them down to the ends of the earth and kill them all. It was just like them to do something as sadistic as this, to not kill her once they found out she was alive, but to let her flounder until they picked her apart like wolves.

But how had they found her? And how didn't she remember anything? A drug of some sort, it had to be.

She stood and started to walk, not wanting to waste her energy on any other form of travel. She didn't know when she would see them--if it was even them--she had to save her energy.

An explosion echoed over the dunes, making her hunch down in fright as her eyes searched across the sand for the source. About a mile away, she could see smoke rising up in the sky, dark and large. They blew up a structure of some sort, it could've have just been from blowing up sand.

Gunshots followed, and Hearne took off running, her tattoos burning under the suit as her feet barely touched the sand beneath her. Wind whistled in her ears, sand flying up beneath her feet as she ran in the opposite direction. Whoever it was, she didn't need to be caught in their battles with others. She needed to fight one thing and one thing only: the people who kidnapped her.

It didn't seem like anyone had spotted her, if they were even looking for her. And she'd be damned if when they inevitably found her that they'd take her again--or kill her.

Fuck, this was such a mess. How had anyone found her? How had they taken her? How had she _let_ them take her? When she found these people, not even the gods could save them. She would be their hell on earth.

The sun was starting to set, creating an orange light over her. She knew who she would be praying to, and that one worked best as the sun was setting, while the other worked best at night, in their element.

Hearne sat down, taking the curved dagger from her belt. In her family, it had been both a ceremonial dagger and a defensive one. Sometimes, both. It was her mother's, passed down for three generations before it landed in Hearne's own hands. Hearne doubted it would ever land in another's.

She attempted to roll up the sleeve, but it didn't budge more than two inches up her wrist. With a huff of frustration, she cut the sleeve off, right above her shoulder, and threw the fabric to the ground. The scars on her arms were prominent, white lines littered against tan skin, with the symbol of Artemis tattoo square on her shoulder. The skin was red and flared from recent applying.

But the last time she applied it was two years ago, wasn't it? 

She didn't dwell on the fact as she took the dagger in hand, allowed energy to flow through her hand and onto it, making the blade swell with darkness, before she held it to the tattoo, her eyes shut tight as she breathed the warm air in.

Her mind filled with an unending sense of calm, like she was an animal in a never-ending forest, and she felt her muscles become loose and ready for the next threat.

 _Bialya, September 4th, 20:21_.

Her eyes shot open, confusion filling ever fiber of her being. How had six months passed? What had happened between then? What had she done? What had they done to her?

_What had they done to Athena?_

Her stomach sunk at that realization, a near-physical pain hitting her heart as she came to the awful conclusion that Athena wasn't okay. She knew they would have killed her, or by some small chance, she could be alive, hidden away in one of their compounds, tortured at every second.

But she knew that was a small chance, because Athena served no purpose to them. They'd use her death to weaken Hearne, to make her do what they wanted--to stop fighting.

It all came crashing down onto her, and Hearne couldn't contain it as she let out a gut-wrenching scream that scraped the back of her throat. Tears stalled in her eyes, overflowing as her fingers dug into the sand to find some grip on reality.

The one thing in her life was gone. The one thing she had was gone.

She sobbed, quietly, almost like she was breathing, as her hands clenched the sand, hitting it as she struggled with the truth. It didn't seem real. Athena couldn't just _die_ , not like this. She could bring her back. If she just--if she just found her body, she could bring her back, she could do the spell.

She could bring Athena back. _She had to_.

Hundreds of things ran through her mind, creating a landslide of things that made her head hurt intensely. 

With a deep breath, Hearne got to her feet, wiped her cheeks, and straightened her shoulders. To even the odds, she cut off the other sleeve at the same length, discarding it next to the other. She shut her eyes, steeling her nerves, forcing herself to stop crying, even though her heart still hurt and her shoulders still shook.

She was going to kill these people, she was going to kill every single one of them.

Without wasting a moment, Hearne began running, faster than she ever had before, the sand dunes blurring beside her as she raced to find the people who took her. Anger coursed through her veins, filling every inch of her with a bubbling, fueling need to ruin something, overpowering the awful ache in her chest.

She heard voices and stopped short, nearly tripping in the sand as it blew up around her. 

Ten feet away from her was a door, leading up into what she assumed was an invisible ship of some sort. Clever, but careless.

He really stepped up his game, hadn't he?

Her tattoos glowed hot under her suit, sizzling the fabric of her suit under she could smell the burning leather. She unhooked the curved dagger from her belt, the blade immediately igniting black, darkness wafting off of it like smoke as her eyes darkened to chasms of onyx.

They always called her family nightmares, the creatures of the night. She'd give them a creature of the night, one worse than they imagined.

Darkness wafted off of her, unfurling softly a few inches away like smoke, making the dagger grow piping hot in her hand.

She crept up the platform and into a room filled with blue, her heart beating quick in her chest as she stood in the dark corner, hand raised to throw her dagger and hit a blonde woman square in the back of the head.

"Artemis!" someone bellowed. "Behind you!"

The woman whirled around and Hearne numbly recognized the symbol of Green Arrow before she hurried forward, her dagger gripped firmly in her hand as 'Artemis' frantically tried to grasp her bow.

Hearne ducked as someone sent a kick--one to hit her in the jaw--and continued towards the blonde woman.

"You'll pay," she hissed, the hilt sizzling against her hand, "you will never get away with her death!" She kicked the woman in the stomach, sending her sprawling as she stalked toward her. "She was innocent, _and you killed her_. Tell your leader that they're as good as dead."

She whirled around, bracing her forearm as it collided with someone's face. Someone else came running forward, attempting to throw something at her, but she raised her dagger and it burned into nothing.

"We didn't kill anyone!" Artemis yelled. "Olympia, it's us! Your team!"

"I don't do teams," she hissed, kicking the legs out from under the black-suited man. "Certainly not with your kind."

She stepped on the man's chest, her foot crushing down on his rib cage as she slashed behind her with her dagger, sending the other to the ground in a heap of screams.

This was Kid Flash. The Flash's sidekick.

Hearne faltered, but continued, pushing him to the point of tears. "Where is he?"

"W-Where is who?!" he yelled. "Please, Olympia, it's us! It's your team! We made cookies together, remember?" He let out a cry of pain. "God, someone get M'gann!"

"You know who I'm talking about!" she yelled, tears forming in her eyes. "Where is your commander? Where is your leader? Answer me!"

Suddenly, the world fell away, and Hearne stumbled backward, muscles coiled tightly as images flashed around her. It was a dark room with a purple tint of light, a black floor beneath, and a feeling unlike any other. Like it wasn't real at all.

Pain radiated through the back of her head as she caught sight of a teenage girl standing two feet from her.

"You're going to regret this," she hissed. "Whatever you're doing, it's a mistake."

"We're friends," the girl assured. "My name is M'gann. We're _friends_. We're on a team together. You're Olympian, we call you Olympia. Your favorite color is orange."

Hearne shook her head. "You're lying. Just tell me where he is and this will all be over. I won't even hurt you."

A lie, but they didn't know that.

"Just let me show you something," the girl said, and Hearne felt her mind start to split apart, like someone reached in.

"Get out of my head!" she screamed, charging forward. 

Everything seemed to stop as hundreds of moments flashed through her mind, entire months coming back in a span of five seconds.

Hearne let out a gasp, stumbling backward, her eyes widening as she looked to M'gann. The Martian was heaving, hands on her head, eyes shut.

"M'gann, I'm so sorry," she apologized sincerely. "I swear, if I had known it was you, I wouldn't have done this. Any of this."

"I-I'm so sorry," M'gann said, tears in her eyes. "I didn't know any of that."

"Any of what?" Hearne questioned. "What did you see?"

"I'm so sorry," she repeated. "I didn't know. I didn't know, I wouldn't have went in your mind if I knew."

As the world of their minds faded around them, horror fell upon Hearne. M'gann had seen the past six months for her. She had went into her mind, she had most likely seen things _before_ those six months. Oh, gods, what had she seen?

More importantly: what had Hearne done? The fallout of this would be hard to explain.

She was flat on her back, Robin, Wally, and Artemis standing in front of her, M'gann and Superboy behind them, while Kaldur sat on a cot, looking dazed as he got to his feet. All three of their faces sported their own pained expression, and Hearne winced as she sat up. 

"Ah, shit," she sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know who any of you were, I didn't know we--I didn't know we were a team."

"What was that?" Robin asked, his voice raised. "What the hell did you do? You--you were like a shadow! And that knife--what did you do to me?"

"Just let me fix it." She got to her feet and held out her hand. "If you let me fix it, it'll be like it never happened."

"Yeah right." Robin cautiously took her hand, his eyes widening as warmth flowed through her hand to his and up his arm. "How--how did you do that?"

"It's complicated," Hearne said, "maybe I'll tell you one day." A lie, but they all believed it.

She healed Artemis and Wally, apologizing to the both of them, because she genuinely felt sorry about what she did to them. If she had a few more seconds with Wally, his ribs would be broken. For Artemis, she had undoubtedly done damage when she kicked her, but at least in her anger she hadn't used all of her strength. If she had, Artemis would be dead.

"Don't worry about it," Artemis said with a nod. "If I was dropped into the middle of nowhere and none of them found me, I think I'd go a little crazy too."

Kaldur walked over, blinking a few times, like he was ill. He probably was, but Hearne wouldn't push healing him, too. She hadn't done that damage. Besides that, Kaldur knew he could ask, she had done it before.

"You said that we killed someone, and that we had a leader." Kaldur looked at her, his eyes filled with both sympathy and command. "Who were you talking about?"

Hearne bit her tongue, she knew she had to give up some information. "There's someone I stay with, someone that I have since I was young. The last thing I remembered was saying goodnight to her. I thought someone took me and killed her." Upon Robin's glare, she huffed. "My family knew some people, people who could do things to us if we didn't obey them. They stopped looking for us, but if something like this happened, I know it would be them."

Kaldur's face softened. "I am sorry to hear that." He smiled slightly, the small smile he always did. "All is forgiven, Olympia."

"Yeah," Wally said, seeming a bit more hesitant, "don't sweat it. I get why you didn't trust us."

"That brand," Robin pointed out, "on your arm. What is it?"

Hearne's eyes flickered over to the shoulder and she realized that the tattoo and her scars were visible. Shit. "The people I told you about, the ones that tried to find my family, they did that. It's their symbol."

Robin winced at that and Wally shot him a _'lay off dude'_ stare while Hearne stood there, rubbing at the still-warm tattoo. "I hope, one day, I can tell you all everything about me." She sighed, and she they were hooked on her finger. "But I don't think I can. Not right now."

Kaldur nodded. "Of course, take the time you need. You have no obligation to tell us your story."

Hearne nodded, eyes downcast like she had shared an awful topic.

They believed every word she said, all except for Robin, who still questioned her connection to Batman. She would have to watch him like a hawk.


	6. Locked Away

**HEARNE HADN'T FELT RIGHT EVER SINCE THEIR MINDS WERE TEMPORARILY WIPED OF THE LAST SIX MONTHS.** There were millions of reasons why, but two continued to stick with her. That for what must have been at least two hours, the idea of Athena being dead was heartbreakingly real, and that the Team had see what she really was. It meant that she would have to work towards gaining trust back, and she would rather skewer her own eyes.

Angrily enough, Kaldur's attitude towards her hadn't changed at all. While it made her attitude boil, she was thankful, in her own way. Because he made her feel . . . less un-like them. She didn't want to be like them, but at least he made her feel like less of an outsider. Hearne hadn't known what the feeling was until Robin had made it abundantly clear that she wasn't like them.

And it was true. Hearne wasn't like them, she was something else. But despite her biology, or the things she could do, she wasn't like them. She never would be, no matter what happened to her, she would always be different. She didn't want to be like them, she didn't want to be weak, for her morals to be light, but distantly, she wanted to feel what they felt.

That left her, here, playing Uno with them in an attempt to 'bond' with them. Before, they trusted her like they trusted Artemis (though, Robin still didn't trust her at all). Now they had mixed feelings about her. After all, she nearly killed them.

Hearne was still angry about that. Why did she stall? It was foolish. Hesitating is what got you killed, and she hesitated for too long.

"Have you even _played_ Uno before?" Wally groaned, taking four more cards from the deck.

"No," she answered, "but it's easy to learn."

She and Athena always played war with a deck of cards, and while Uno was easy to learn, it wasn't the type of game she'd play willingly. It wasn't sophisticated, a child who didn't even know how to read could play it.

While she only had two cards left, Robin had three, Artemis had five, Kaldur had seven, Connor had eight, M'gann had ten, and Wally had fifteen. It was a bit funny, because M'gann had ten because she was still learning the game--Wally had fifteen because everyone kept saving their plus four cards for him. Or rather Artemis and Hearne were, but Robin pitched in sometimes.

Connor placed a skip card, and M'gann frowned as Wally placed down a yellow two. Hearne sat a plus four on the top of the deck and Robin's face pinched into a scowl as his three turned into a seven. Hearne announced "Uno," because apparently that was one of the rules, and the game continued on.

Her participation ended with her putting down a red skip card, followed by Robin's groan and M'gann's friendly cheer. 

Hearne stood, her back cracking in the process, as she walked away towards the kitchen.

"See, Wally," Artemis whispered not-so-subtly, " _that's_ what a gracious winner looks like."

"She cheated," he argued, "this was her first time playing, no way she's that good!"

"It's called strategy, you should try it next time."

Hearne blocked their bickering out as she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, an involuntary shiver going through her body as the ice-cold water passed through her lips.

She was aware of someone walking up behind her and her muscles tensed as they stepped up to look inside the fridge. She guessed it was him, based on the sound of the footsteps (one: because they were barefoot, two: because Kaldur was the second largest person in the Cave).

"Did you quit?"

"I won," he stated, "after you."

"Well, it isn't hard, the only other good players are Robin and Artemis." She shrugged. "It's just a card game, though, it doesn't matter."

Kaldur hesitated before he shut the door to the fridge, a water bottle in hand. "Does that make it any less important?"

"As I said, it's a card game. It holds no importance."

"Hearne," he said, glancing briefly to the living room behind them, where the Team was laughing together. "You can relax here, no harm will come to you."

Her features pinched together, the water long forgotten beside her. "Harm? That's not what I'm worried about, why would you think that?"

"You are not comfortable with us," he stated, sure of his statement. "You have made that very clear. I hope that you know, even with the events of yesterday, we hold no ill will towards you."

"Really?" she questioned. "Because I'm not sure everyone else feels that way. And it isn't their job to. We don't have to . . . we don't have to be friends, not like you were before I came along."

"You may have only been here for a month, but you still hold as much importance as the rest of the team." Kaldur looked at her, his eyes full with sincerity. "I know you hold back, to spare us from what you're capable of, because you are afraid of what we'll think. You do not have to fear us."

"I'm not afraid of you," she defended. "But--yes, I do not want any of you to see what I can do. For both of our safeties."

A little amount of vague information, enough to keep Kaldur at bay, and undoubtedly curious Connor, who she didn't doubt was listening in. 

"We might not understand what you are capable of, but do not hold back. Holding back helps no one but our enemies."

"I can't guarantee anything," she said, ignoring the strange feeling coiling in her chest. "But . . . thank you, Kaldur."

He nodded, hesitated, and left. Out of all the people in the Cave, she liked Kaldur the most. He typically spoke his mind, she never had to second-guess what he meant, and he didn't hold any ill-will towards her, not since she arrived.

The Team was laughing together, and as she met eyes with Robin, she took that as her cue to leave. She didn't fit with them, even when she was pretending, she didn't fit. Not that she wanted to, but she wished that it was easier to blend in. It felt so wrong to do nothing but be comfortable around them.

She left out the door, walking up the grassy ramp. The air was cooler than she remembered it being, but granted she hadn't been outside since Bialya, and that was a desert. Right, it was September, it was colder. Hearne was always one to be on the warmer side, her skin usually warm to the touch, but lately she'd been feeling cold. Ever since she came back from Bialya, she couldn't shake the feeling of distaste.

Athena had called, twice, but she let it go to voice mail. She didn't doubt that Bruce had explained everything to her, he always filled her in, and Hearne was grateful for that. She didn't feel like explaining everything, or facing things she'd tried to lock away inside her mind. It felt like everything had come back to her, clawing at her, begging for her to think about it again.

Except she didn't want to. These things were supposed to stay locked away until the time came. So why weren't they?


	7. Mountain of Weakness

**HEARNE HAD TO SPEND TWO DAYS A WEEK, AT THE LEAST, AT THE CAVE.** Athena's rules, not hers. She knew, if she wanted to, she could disobey Athena. But she listened to Athena. She'd been there to help her when no one else was, which gave her the respect of Hearne listening to her.

It didn't mean she'd enjoy it, though. Out of the people in the Cave, she had favorites, the ones she'd rather spend her time with if she had to. At the top of that list was Kaldur, who had similar tastes as her, but who was currently surveying Belle Reve, where M'gann and Connor were going undercover. Then there was Artemis, who was similar to her, but who had also left the day before. That was where her favorites stopped. Which left her with Connor's sphere, which creeped her out to no end, and Robin, who was here solely because he had unknown work to do.

Robin was her least favorite of the Team, which was barely behind Wally, who annoyed Hearne too much for her own liking. Robin didn't know she knew exactly who he was behind the mask, and that she also knew who Batman was, and had for years, but that wasn't the most irritating thing about him. It was the fact that he disliked her "connection" to Batman so strongly he kept trying to dig for information on her to explain _how_ they were connected. It was so prominent that it created tension between him and his mentor, to the point that even Kaldur had commented on it to her.

It'd be impossible to find out who she was. He might figure out their connection, since, after all, Bruce visited Athena as often as he could, but Hearne couldn't imagine him figuring out who she was. How could he? Technically, she never existed. She was a legal citizen of Peru, but that was as far as it went. A birth certificate, nothing more. If he managed to find information in the right groups of people on the Fowler empire, it wouldn't go any further. Hearne Fowler had died five years ago, and there wasn't any proof otherwise.

He was chasing a ghost, all because he was jealous that someone else knew Batman like he did. Which was foolish, because Hearne didn't know Batman like he did. No one could know him like Robin did, Robin knew him like a son.

She doubted he'd listen to that, though.

Hearne looked at the punching bag hanging from the wall in front of her and frowned. It looked sad, deflated, even. She'd been careful not to burst the bag (she'd done that before, and earned a sigh from Kaldur), but still, it wasn't as if her punches wouldn't cause some damage to it. Sometimes, she just wanted to punch something, to see how much force was really boiling inside her, if she'd gotten stronger over the years.

But she didn't. Because she might collapse a support beam when she punched a wall, or split a tree in half like last time, and scare someone half to death. Still, it felt like someone was always filling her body with hot coals until she was nearly boiling over, but every time she tried, it would simmer down until it boiled again. For once, she wanted to listen to Athena and just let everything burst outward, for energy to fly off of her body and turn the air into an onyx storm, until that feeling was _gone_.

Her fist collided with the leather of the bag, and the sound of the chain snapping filled her ears as the bag flew backward into the wall. It fell to the ground, sand spilling out through the gaping hole in the middle, right onto the perfectly white tile below it.

"What did that punching bag ever do to you?"

Hearne's muscles coiled together as she quickly turned around, her hands clenched into fist before she realized who it was. "Hello, Robin."

"I'm just working out, act like I'm not here."

With a weary stare, her lips pressed together in a thin line as she collected the broom and dustpan and began to sweep the sand into it. She could hear Robin behind her, using the rings that were suspended in the air, as he always did. That was his specialty. A gymnast. He made fighting look like a nice, delicate art with the way he spun in the air like a plucked flower petal. Hearne found it quite nice to watch while they were in combat. He was dangerous, but he had an air of specialty to the way he moved, one she lacked.

She swept the last bit of sand into the dustpan and put it into the trash bin before she grabbed the punching bag in both hands, one on the base of the snapped chain while the other rested on the bottom of the bag, a precaution to make sure no more sand spilt out of the bottom. Broken equipment went in the corner, which mostly consisted of punching bags and cracked dumbbells, most done by Connor, who was still learning to control his strength. Hearne could acknowledge how far he'd come, though. His combat still needed work, he led with his anger instead of his brain, and not in a good way. That would always be a fault of his, she was sure of it.

As she sat the punching bag down in the corner next to a lopsided dumbbell, she heard Robin fall back down onto the mat gracefully, into a roll rather than a kneel. That seemed to be his go-to, whereas hers was the kneel, as she was taught to do. Another difference between them.

She could hear the sound of him squeezing water out of his bottle and into his mouth, which made her bite her tongue. He and Wally always did that, and Hearne always had to bite her tongue to not say how immature it made them look. Ignoring it, she made her way towards the door, her mind on finishing the book she'd borrowed from Athena on ancient torture methods from Greece.

"That tattoo, the one on your back, Wonder Woman wears it for special occasions."

Hearne stopped short, her shoulders tensing. In Bialya, her tattoos had burned so hot it melted her suit. _He'd seen them_.

"It's the symbol of Zeus, isn't it?" Shit, shit, _shit_. "Are you an Amazon?"

"Yes," she answered. "You've cracked my identity. Are you happy now?" She turned around to see Robin, the eyes of his mask wide. "This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Why go with Batman, then? Why not Wonder Woman?"

"Because there's issues there," Hearne stated. "We don't get along. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"I--yeah, it is."

"Then there's nothing more for me to say."

_* * *_

**_WHEN KALDUR, M'GANN,_** and Connor came back, Robin was still at the Cave. Hearne knew he wouldn't mention it to anyone, not unless the time was right and everyone was present. Even then, it wouldn't have any effect. Diana would agree to the story without knowing it, Hearne knew that for certain.

"They're dating," Hearne stated, looking towards M'gann and Connor, who were laying together on the couch. "It took them a month, but they did it."

Kaldur hummed in acknowledgment. "I did not think it would happen this soon."

"M'gann nearly died," she pointed out, "I have never seen anything make two people become closer than one's death."

His eyebrows pinched together at that. "I suppose that is true."

Hearne stirred the meat in the pan, her lips pressing into a firm line when grease popped up onto her hand. "M'gann is good for him. They both have the part the other one lacks."

"The part?"

"Everyone is different," Hearne explained, turning around to face Kaldur, "we all have something unique to us. However, we all fall into categories in different territories of life. They have the part the other one lacks, thus they teach each other about the part they need."

"That is . . . correct."

She smiled slightly to herself, a ghost of a smile compared to most. "Of course it is."

"You read people well," he said. "Is that an ability of yours?"

Hearne's lips pursed. "You could say that, but not the kind you're thinking of. I was taught how to do it, it's instinct. I look at someone, and I can read their body language without meaning to."

"You do not sound like you like it."

"I do, it makes things easier," she said with a deflated attempt at maintaining a wall. "But, sometimes, you want to believe the lies people sell you. Knowing when people lie is worse than never knowing." She bit her tongue. "Ignore that, it was unnecessary."

She resisted the overwhelming urge to say _out of turn_. After all these years, those rules were still ingrained in her brain.

"It is fine," Kaldur said, and the sincerity in his voice surprised her. "I have never scene you this honest. It is--telling."

Hearne bit her tongue. "Well, thank you, Kaldur, but if I don't finish this meat, it will burn. Maybe Robin can talk with you until dinner is ready."

Wordlessly, he left, and _fuck_ , was Hearne glad for that. Because she liked Kaldur. It was easy to be near him, she didn't have to explicitly watch what she said. But now she did, because she'd stepped out of line and shown a mountain of weakness, and so easily that it made her feel like she'd already declared herself vulnerable.

And if Hearne Fowler was anything, it wasn't vulnerable.


	8. Of Blood and Bone

**HEARNE SAT HER DUFFEL BAG DOWN ON THE FOOT OF THE BED, HER SKIN PRICKLING AS THE COLD AIR HIT IT.** Each room had an individual heating and air unit, meaning that once Hearne turned hers off, it was colder than she'd like to imagine. With the lack of stuff in her room besides the things that were there when she arrived, it was even colder.

Athena's words from that morning still hung heavy over her shoulders.

"You aren't living," she'd said, "next time you say something, don't think about the repercussions of the rules, just do it."

How did she know what 'living' was? And how did she know what to say? It was impossible for her to tell Hearne how she was supposed to act. Athena lived a normal, middle class American life, something vastly different from Hearne's. How would she know what it was like? How she was supposed to live? She _didn't_.

Despite her mentally warning herself that if she didn't go to the gym now, she would have to later, she still laid down on her bed. How weak was she now, that the comfortableness of a bed was enough to subdue her will? Her mother would strike her across the face for such foolishness.

Still, despite the thoughts clawing at her mind, screaming at her to be better, to just _stop doing this_ , she remained in the same stiffly comfortable position, the blanket clutched in one fist. This was nice, maybe not as good as the feeling of splitting her knuckles open again on the rough leather of the punching bag, but it was close. 

For the first time in months, Hearne dug her earbuds out of the bottom of her bag, plugged them into her iPod, and selected a song. The loud, nearly-hurtful noise hit her ears, filled with screams that sounded like it tore the person's throat raw, and slashes of the guitar that would reverberate in your chest when your fingers hit the instrument. Music loud enough to cancel out some thoughts, only partially, but enough to feel like euphoria.

Her ears were starting to hurt when she felt the bed shake. For a moment, through the haze of what she hated to call self-hatred, she didn't react. For those few, foolish, weak moments, her body didn't move. But instantly after, she bolted upward. Except it was too late.

The door burst off the hinges and hit her square in the chest, knocking the breath out of her as her back collided into the wall. Pain shot up her spine, but she ignored it as she saw what was unfolding in front of her. Water was filling her room, rapidly, rising past her ankles within seconds.

With a deep, calculated breath, her tattoos grew hot, smoldering, as the water reached her waist. Quickly, her eyes darkened, until their was nothing but a black chasm left, and she focused as the water began to reach her nose. She swam forward, but her heart dropped into her stomach as her feet were yanked downward, her back slamming into the floor until it cracked.

Hearne squirmed, trying to pull her way out of the current that pushed her to the bottom, but the pressure continued as the aching in her lungs intensified. Her eyes caught sight of a short-bladed knife drifting in the water and she craned her arm, the muscles burning as her fingers desperately clawed in the water to reach the weapon.

Her fingers grasped the hilt and--

Her torso shot upward, an involuntary convulse, as her hands flew to her neck desperately. Her eyes were wide--terrified, even--as she tried to pull the knife free from her neck, writhing as pain seemed to overload her system.

This can't be it, this can't be it--

As the water started to recede, Hearne's body went limp, fingers still clenched fleetingly around the knife impaled in her.

_* * *_

**_ARTEMIS AND ROBIN_** dropped down into the tunnel, the sound of the explosion still ringing in their ears numbly. It still didn't seem real. How could this happen? Where was the team, and why did that thing look like Red Tornado? 

"Hold on," Robin said, stopping to pop the cover off of an electric box in the wall and plug a cord into one of the outlets. "Locking out cave's motion and heat sensors to prevent the enemy from tracking us."

"And I ask again, _who is the enemy?_ "

"Let's find out," Robin replied, a bit cheekily. "Downloading cave security footage . . . _there_."

From the small holographic screen in front of them, a security camera feed popped up to display M'gann, Kaldur, Connor, and Wally, working on Connor's motorcycle, Sphere not too far behind them. Olympia wasn't anywhere to be seen. As much as Robin hated to admit it, the fact that Olympia might still be at large in the Cave made his hope for making it out of this ten times higher.

"Torque wrench," Wally said, and M'gann promptly passed him a wrench through the air. "Thank you, Green Cheeks." 

Artemis couldn't be more disgusted at that. 

"I have been meaning to ask," Kaldur said, "any problem juggling schoolwork with your responsibilities here?"

"No," Connor said, offering no further explanation.

"Juggling's just one of my many talents," Wally mused, and it was clear who he directed that towards. "Socket wrench."

"Daily cheer-leading practice has presented a challenge," M'gann said, sounding too optimistic for her own good. "Oh, but my first loyalty is always to the team." Artemis couldn't help but wonder why she cared so much about school. "This team," M'gann quickly corrected, "not the Bumblebees."

"Artemis starts school today. Do you think _she_ will have trouble maintaining her loyalties?" Kaldur asked.

Robin looked over to her once Kaldur said that, but Artemis acted like she didn't notice and kept looking at the screen.

"Nah, she'll manage alright," Wally said, "I mean, how much more hostile and annoying--"

Their eyes both went wide as an explosion took over the screen and it turned into nothing but static.

"What happened?"

"Explosions took out the cameras," Robin quickly explained as he began to type, "I'll find another angle."

As screens started to pop up, Artemis couldn't help but say it. "Do you think Olympia is still out there?"

"I don't know," Robin admitted, "maybe. I'll check once we figure out how this happened."

Artemis couldn't help but worry about the Team, especially Olympia. If she wasn't with them, where was she? She was at the Cave, she knew that. She wished Robin would seem as bothered as she was. But Robin wasn't. He wasn't close with Olympia like Artemis was, he didn't even call her 'Olympia' most of the time.

A screen came into view, and water splashed down in three tendrils, sending the Team flying as the camera went to static once more. Another camera, this time of them getting to their feet, and another wave coming forth, followed by Connor's yell and more static. On the next, Kaldur was running up the stairs, M'gann not to far in the air behind him, and abruptly, the camera cut to static without any reason.

"That's it," Robin grimly said, "all four are dead." Artemis' head shot up from her sunken state. "The cameras. I meant the cameras! I'm sure the others are okay." His words didn't sound too convincing to either of them. "Just give me a sec to find out the fastest route to the hangar."

"Yeah, they're fine," Artemis agreed as she clutched her knees halfway to her chest. "They've all got superpowers. They can handle anything."

Robin didn't say anything, but his statement was clear: superpowers don't solve everything. Still, for Artemis, superpowers meant much more.

"This way," he said, sounding more deflated than before. "Hurry."

Wordlessly, she followed after him, and Robin wondered how this could go down. A thousand scenarios played out in his mind, but each once became increasingly more gruesome than the last.

As they reached a vent, Robin took a small, unnoticeable breath to ground himself and kicked he vent outward. It fell to the ground below them, and he jumped out to the ground, landing in a clean roll with Artemis behind him. Without saying a word, the two started to run down the stairs, Artemis following solely because she couldn't think of a single way this could go well.

"There's a secret passageway behind one of these bookcases."

"Seriously?" she said, feeling relieved at her sense of sarcasm. "Cliche much?"

"You should see the Batcave."

The two walked, looking down the aisles as they passed, Robin looking for a specific thing, while Artemis wondered what a secret passageway was even supposed to look like. They heard the door open and immediately flipped around to draw their weapons before reality dawned upon them and they ducked behind a bookcase.

The sound of metal footsteps against the floor neared, and it sounded eerily like Red Tornado. Fitting, since they all seemed to be exactly the same.

"Artemis, Robin," a voice like Red Tornado announced.

Artemis' eyes widened. "It's Red Tornado!" With hope filling her chest, she ran out of the aisle, bow no longer drawn, only for her excitement to quickly fall once she saw the awfully un-Red Tornado robot in front of her.

Robin didn't think, he didn't even know he was moving, not until his hand met Artemis' shoulder and the two were unceremoniously falling under a table. "Yes on the red, no on the tornado!"

The two ran, the sound of the robot behind them barely heard over their rapidly beating hearts in their ears and their loud, quick-fire breaths.

Another robot--the woman--cut them off, and they skidded to the side, Artemis' feet nearly slipping out from under her in the process. They leaped onto the top of the bookcases, jumping from one to the other in one bound.

"Who-- _what are they?_ " Artemis yelled.

The fire sprinklers went off, dousing them in water, and as Artemis turned and fired an air, she knew that was an omen of bad luck. Sure enough, the arrow exploded into a small shield of water, and the two robots continued forward. The robot woman's fist connected with a bookcase, and they began to topple over like dominoes towards the two heroes. 

Artemis jumped down, trying to ignore how her heart was now beating in her throat, as Robin felt his icy veins come back to life when he quickly pulled the spine of an orange book towards him. A passage opened in the bookcase, and without wasting a second, the two ran through right as the bookcases came down on them.

"Did you know Tornado had siblings?"

"No," Robin answered, and somehow, that felt like the worst answer.

As they came to a stop between four hallways, Artemis grabbed his wrist to prevent him from running any further. "So now what? Red Tornado is one of the power houses of the League! How are we supposed to take down two of him?"

"They do seem pretty user unfriendly."

"Don't joke!" Artemis chastised. "They--"

"Attention, Robin," came the all-too-familiar voice over the intercom speakers. "Attention, Artemis. You have exactly ten minutes to surrender or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished."

They looked to each other, and with a sickening realization, they realized one thing: they didn't say Olympian.

_* * *_

**_KALDUR, FOR THE_** first time, understood what his king meant by "you can't always be the hero." He had always thought it was a grim phrase to say that sometimes, things that had to be done weren't what people imagined being a hero was. But no, he meant it for this situation.

You can't always be there to save everything.

Connor and Wally were locked up, encased in something to prevent them from moving, with water getting increasingly higher. While he was there, locked inside a cage with bars made of fire, helpless as to what to do with the two people in his lap.

M'gann wasn't gone yet, but the heat was weakening her--but Olympia was in dangerous condition. For the first time in nearly an hour, the darkness around her body had faded, as if she hadn't looked like the story of creatures from the deep he was told about as a child. The bleeding had stopped long ago, before she even arrived into the cage, but that was the most worrisome. Her body was clearly healing itself in its own way, but what did that mean? If she stopped, she would die.

There was the overwhelming truth that everyone in the room knew: Olympia would have died if it wasn't for her abilities. _Any of them_ would be dead if they were in her place. Whatever she was capable of was vast, because even Wally himself knew he could never heal that fast, and even Connor knew that his lack of pain didn't reach that far.

What she had done was beyond reason. A knife in her neck should have nearly-instantly killed her. But, somehow, against the odds, two hours later she was still alive. Unconscious, but alive. 

Suddenly, Artemis and Robin appeared in the water, gasping desperately for air.

Wally's eyes widened as he saw the robot woman raise her arm in the air. " _Look out!_ "

Artemis and Robin dodged and dove underwater, reappearing beside Wally safely. He and Connor were trapped, and all four of them knew it was impossible to free them.

"You guys okay?" Robin asked.

"Forget us!" Connor yelled. "Help them!"

Artemis and Robin looked upward to see Kaldur encased in a cage made entirely of fire, M'gann and Olympia in his arms. A knife in Olympia's neck.

" _Aqualad!_ " Artemis yelled. "Is she--"

"She is unconscious," he said, sounding unsure of the fact. "She is healing herself. I fear she cannot survive much longer. I fear _we_ cannot make it."

It didn't seem real that Olympia could die. She was illusive and closed-off, more of an outsider sometimes, but she was still part of their team. Rationally, they knew that those robots had taken them all down, and that they could take Olympia down, too. But it just seemed so _wrong_. Because she was lying there, limp, paler than Kaldur had ever seen her become with blood stained on her neck. It made her seem so _young_. To all of them, they'd seen her as someone who was unmovable, someone who had energy coiled in every muscle of their body. But for the first time, they could see that she was shorter than the rest of them--small, even--and seemed so young compared to what they believed.

The robot woman reappeared, blasting a jet of fire towards Artemis and Robin, and they ducked down, pushing themselves as fast as they could downward. They surfaced near the stairs, but they didn't get halfway before the male robot appeared. As Artemis drew her bow with an explosive arrow, the other robot appeared behind them, boxing them in.

"I'm almost out of arrows," Artemis said, worriedly.

"Distract her, now!"

Artemis fired the arrow as Robin ran down the stairs, his batarangs hitting the robot right as the woman walked cleanly through the explosion. One landed less than an inch beside Wally's face, but in the heat of battle, it wasn't even recognized. Both robots raised their arms, fire and water rising behind them, and the two heroes shared one look before they dove off the side of the stairs and into the water.

They dove down below, their lungs aching as Robin pulled off the grate to a pipe, and hurriedly, they swam up until they reached a ladder that led them to the surface of the water. They gasped, the feeling that they were going to burst barely subsiding as they heaved themselves up onto the tunnel in front of them. As they struggled to get air in through the burning of their lungs, _'six minutes'_ rang out over the intercom. 

"What do we do now?"

"We save them," Robin said. "That's how it works."

"Maybe that's how it's supposed to work but those robots already took out our five super-powered friends!" Artemis yelled.

"You seem distraught."

" _Distraught?_ " Artemis' eyes went wide. "M'gann's dying, Olympia's almost dead! We have no powers, and I'm down to my last arrow! Of course I'm distraught!"

"Well get traught or get dead," Robin replied, his voice filled with too little tension.

"How can you be so calm?"

"Practice," he deadpanned as he began to crawl down the tunnel. "I've been doing this since I was nine."

"What good is that now?" she said. "What chance do we have against unrelenting machines?"

"Oh. Duh!" There was that spark back in his voice. "They're _machines_. And one electromagnetic pulse will shut down any machine in range."

"Great," Artemis said sarcastically, "except you better have an EMP emitter in your utility belt, because I know I don't have one in my quiver."

"I'm fresh out," he replied with a mischievous smile. "But I'm betting we can make a one." He pressed two fingers to his comm, a two-way device to his batarang. "What do you say, K.F., doable?"

"Totally doable."

"Five minutes," the robot announced.

"You know, if you had more time."

"Med lab," Wally ordered, and Robin popped open a vent and crawled through. "X-ray machine." The two of them ran over to it, ducking down behind it as quietly as they could. "You'll find a small vacuum tube called a vircator that converts high energy pulses. Reprogram the unit's microwave conversion from X-rays to EMPs with a cascading energy vector directed outward."

Robin pulled something out of the machine. "A ripple effect, like dropping a stone in a pond."

"A stone with the ten to the twelfth power of wattage, yeah."

"So I'll need to hook it up to the Cave's main generator," Robin said.

"Which is where?" Artemis questioned.

_* * *_

**_OLYMPIA MOVED SLIGHTLY,_** her body curling into itself. Kaldur didn't know what to do. M'gann was dying, and Olympia was doing something, managing to heal herself, but without knowing how her abilities worked, he didn't even know if they were working properly. Should the knife still be there? Would it cause more damage to remove it? 

Another small, nearly-unseeable burst of darkness came from her body, the flames of the cage flickering slightly as a sense of overwhelming cold filled his bones. It wasn't a temperature, it was a chilling sensation, something he couldn't begin to describe. Every pulse her body sent left him with a feeling of it.

It happened once more, and the flames flickered again. Through the haze of exhaustion, the pieces started to fit together.

"Hey, Red Tomato," Wally yelled, "who's your girlfriend? Red Onion?"

"Yeah!" Connor yelled. "And worst death trap ever, we can escape any time we want."

"I can vibrate my molecules out of here before your binary brains can count to two," Wally added.

"And you can't drown a Kryptonian, dumb bots," Connor edged, "we don't breathe air."

Wally laughed, and Kaldur could see everything coming together as Robin ducked down onto the generator. "And Ms. Martian? I can't believe you're buying her act."

"Yeah!" Connor said. "Do you know how hot it gets in the caves of Mars? That cage is just making her homesick. Duh!"

A large, looming wave came forward, creeping up towards Robin, as Artemis let out a panicked yell. " _Robin, look out!_ "

The wave overcame Robin and he disappeared within it as Artemis' arrow accidentally landed a foot from the male robot. Kaldur let out a ragged breath, struggling to keep his eyes open as he heard the sound of Robin flopping lifelessly onto the ground behind him. He couldn't make himself look back, he didn't have the strength.

"You can do this," he whispered, "I have faith in you."

As the flames flickered once more, more intensely than before, he struggled to keep his eyes open. He crawled, towards the walls of the cage, his skin seeming to melt the closer he got to it.

Below, Wally and Connor shared one last look as the water came above their noses. They struggled, trying to free themselves, but it was useless. They were trapped.

Artemis walked through the doors to the Cave, her posture defeated. "I surrender," she said, "stop the clock." As Kaldur struggled to his feet, there was one large, bone-chilling pulse, and the fire went away from the smallest moment. 

"Hey!" he yelled, struggling to keep himself on his feet, the heat of the cage on his back. "I am free!"

Rapidly, the two robots turned, and Artemis took advantage of that moment, leaping into the air to kick off the back of one of their heads. She slipped, her bow in hand, finger on the string, and she released, praying to a god she never believed in that it'd hit home.

As the robots raised their arms towards Kaldur, an electric crack rang through the air, and they toppled forward limply, their eyes going dark.

"Kaldur!" Connor yelled. "How's M'gann?"

"She breathes," he rasped, "I believe she will recover." He looked to Artemis. "What of Robin?"

Hesitantly, with wide, pleading eyes, she touched the younger hero gently. He coughed, his chest shaking with the effort.

"He--he's breathing too!"

Robin gasped. "Way to get traught." He coughed once more. "Olympia, is she--"

"She is alive," Kaldur said, tiredly falling to his knees beside her. "She managed to halt the cage for me to escape."

With one arm, Robin managed to get up despite the pain in his chest. "How did she--?"

"I do not know," Kaldur sighed. "But I believe that Olympia has more than we were told."

Robin nearly said who she was, that she was an Amazonian, but he didn't. Somehow, it didn't feel right anymore. She had almost died--she still might--and had freed Kaldur to distract the robots. Even if he didn't entirely trust her, that meant something none of them could take back.

"We need to get Wally and Connor out," Robin said instead. "I know Wally's losing his mind right now."

"I am!"

_* * *_

**_WHEN HEARNE OPENED_** her eyes, for a brief moment, there was bliss. She couldn't remember anything, nothing but peace. Then the pain in her body, the forming bruises and the ache in her neck, came full-force, as did the memories of that day and long before.

She coughed, though the motion was immediately regretted as she bit her tongue in pain. Despite the aches in her body, she sat up, propping herself up on one arm. Parts of the Justice League, stood in front of her, their backs turned, as well as the Team.

Kaldur stepped back from Aquaman, his eyes meeting hers, and they widened to what would have been a comical proportion at any other time. He ran over to kneel beside her, his hand hesitantly resting on her shoulder.

"I was worried," he said. "I-- _we_ thought you had died."

Hearne was taken aback by the genuine worry he held, the one splayed across his face. "It takes more than a knife to kill me," Hearne said, but the truth was, she hadn't known. She had thought she was going to die in those few moments, and until she opened her eyes, she _had_ been. Even though she couldn't remember a single thing from during that missing time, she knew something happened. Not to the wrecked cave, but to her.

"What happened?"

"We were attacked," Kaldur stated. "By two robots, identical to Red Tornado himself. Artemis and Robin--and you saved us. But . . ."

"But what?" Hearne questioned. "What happened?"

"Red Tornado is gone. He left with them."

A sinking, awful feeling rested in Hearne's stomach. And it wasn't just because of the news.


	9. Something Amiss

**" _ATHENA?_ "**

Hearne hesitantly wrapped her arms around the woman, still reeling from being wrapped in the arms of someone so suddenly. She locked her jaw, forcing herself not to give way to tears that threatened to spill. That was weak, she didn't cry, nor would she ever.

"I'm so sorry I made you do this," she said tearfully, "I should've known I was pushing you to do too much. I'm--gods, are you okay?"

"I am fine," Hearne assured her, giving one last squeeze before she pulled away. "I healed myself."

Athena bit her lip, her eyes rapidly scanning over Hearne, trying to map out everything--including the new mottled scar on her neck. "I shouldn't have made you do this. This was too much for you H--"

"Don't worry," Hearne said, cutting her off before she could say her name. "I can handle this. I was foolish, I let my guard down for a moment, and that was all it took for the Team to be captured and me to nearly be killed. It won't happen again."

The Team was staring at her now, as well as a few of the League, attempting their best to be discreet. 

"You know you don't have to that anymore, right?" Athena whispered. "You don't need to apologize to me, you didn't make a mistake. You did good."

"I didn't," Hearne said, her eyes narrowed. "It was my fault. But it's fine, there was no need for you to come here, you can go home."

"I'm not going home," Athena stated. "You died. You healed yourself, but it happened. And you're not going to make me go away, not right now."

"Fine, but keep quiet."

Batman finished talking with Robin and walked over to the two of them. "Could I speak with you? _Privately_."

Hearne left wordlessly, and the two disappeared into the hall, far away to be out of earshot from prying Kryptonians.

"Was that your mother?"

She flinched at the sudden voice before relaxing once she realized who it was. "No, a friend."

"You two are close," Kaldur said--no, he stated it, Hearne could hear how he knew it. And it was clear. He was saying that she could be that close to someone, that it wouldn't kill her to do so, like she had been making it seem since she arrived. Infuriating.

"We are."

It was silent, filled with a slight tension, before he spoke again. "I know you have told the Team that you are not ready to reveal who you are nor what you can do. But when you are ready, we are here."

Hearne's jaw tightened. "I know."

It would never happen. Because not only would her and Athena's life be in danger, so would the entire Team, as well as Batman. The risks were too great for something that didn't interest her.

"I--"

"Can I speak with you?"

Hearne spared a look towards Kaldur, her version of apologizing and excusing herself, and followed Diana. The woman was dressed in her hero attire, and the Bracelets of Submission on her arms glowing bright under the lights of the cave. They were familiar, Hearne had seen them several times when she was a child, when a few Amazons had come to the compound, she had asked her mother about the cuffs on their wrists. Her mother had made her stand in a storm for that.

"Diana," Hearne greeted as they walked into the kitchen. "What is it?"

They both stood, respectfully, but Hearne more so. Diana was the daughter of Zeus, she had her respect from birth. If Hearne didn't treat her well, she was a disgrace.

"You need to be careful," she said. "We cannot risk your life."

"I know that," Hearne said. "It won't happen again, I will not let my guard down, you have my word."

Diana pursed her lips. "I am not talking about your near-death. Batman told me what Robin knows. If he furthers his search, he will find out who you truly are. We cannot risk them finding you."

"I know," Hearne said. "I would never risk the bloodline. He thinks I am Amazonian, and with the lack of knowledge of Themyscira, he would never know that my kind does not exist there. He does not know my kind exists."

"But what if he does figure out who you are? Or Batman? All it takes is one mistake, and they will know. Your kind is holy, Hearne, you know this."

"I could never forget. My duty is to make sure I am not the last."

Diana blinked, seemingly surprised by that. "No, it is not. You are not going to live your life like you have been--you will live, and you will thrive, not only exist. The bloodline is important, but it means nothing if it is born from your pain. A callous tree is a rotten one."

"I see. I will not fail you."

"Alright then." As Hearne walked away, Diana stopped her once more. "Hearne?"

"Yes?"

"They're proud of you."

Hearne knew what happy felt like: it was this.

_* * *_

**_GREEN ARROW SAT_** down a bowl of pretzels on the table, which Hearne didn't quite understand what for.

"Thanks," Wally said, "but no thanks."

"Yeah," Robin agreed, "what we want are answers about Red Tornado and his siblings."

"Exactly!" Green Arrow went to take the pretzels away, but Wally quickly grabbed it. "Leave the bowl."

"They weren't his siblings," Hearne said. "Red Tornado was unique when he was made, there wasn't any other like him. He did not know these things existed, I think it was a ploy to take him under their control. Why else wouldn't they kill us?"

"They nearly did," Artemis pointed out grimly.

"But they did not, not on purpose. If they wanted to, they easily could. Why else would you still be alive?"

" _Us?_ " Robin said. "You were the one unconscious!" 

"A technicality, my abilities still functioned without me."

Connor stood from the table quickly and started to walk towards Kaldur and Batman. Hearne stood, eyebrows pinched together. Clearly, he was angry about something--no doubt something overheard--and Hearne did not want a fight to break out. Right now, the thought of getting a group lecture because of their foolishness was exhausting.

Connor grabbed Kaldur by the shoulders and began to push him back towards the wall. " _You knew?_ That android and his maniac family nearly killed M'gann!"

As M'gann flew forward, Hearne walked, one hand on her hip tiredly. She just wanted to sleep, she didn't want to mediate. But them fighting would get her in trouble, as well, and she didn't want to disappoint again.

"Release him," Hearne commanded, her tone clear and rigid.

"Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us and said nothing!"

Hearne's eyes widened momentarily, and she pushed that small, insignificant part of her down that was hurt. Logical, not emotional--emotions could get you killed, like they had before.

"You knew?" Robin said.

"And didn't tell us?" Wally added.

"I sought to protect the Team from--"

"Protect us from what?" Artemis said. "Knowledge that might have saved our lives? Olympia died!"

"I didn't," Hearne rigidly corrected. "And Kaldur had his reasons. He is the leader, we must respect them."

"Oh, so that's it?" Wally scoffed. "You just do what he says? Like a lapdog?"

She turned to him, her face contorted into disgust. "I am _no one's_ lapdog. You are the sidekick."

"You--"

"Enough." Hearne straightened her posture at Batman's words. "With Red Tornado missing the Team will be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel had volunteered to take the first shift."

Captain Marvel was someone that always confused Hearne. It was impossible for them to be as old as they looked, they were too immature, and their vocabulary was like a child's. Shape-shifting, possibly? She still had to figure him out, one of the few Leaguers she failed to do so with.

"I'm really looking forward to hanging with you guys," Captain Marvel said.

 _There_. What middle-aged man used that phrase? It flowed out of him easily, like he used it on a daily basis, not like he was using a word he'd overheard from younger people.

"After I dismantle Red Tornado you and I are gonna--"

"Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League," Batman said, cutting Connor off. "That makes him a League responsibility. You _will_ leave him to us." He gestured behind him, where a holographic screen appeared in the air. "I have another assignment for this team."

It was a newspaper page, the front one, with the headline _'GORILLA TRADES BANANAS FOR BULLETS'_ , with a picture of a gorilla, armed with a gun, wearing padded protective gear and a beret. Before she could start to read the newspaper, it switched to another page. The Gotham mayor, his head bandaged and arm in a sling, with the words _'GOTHAM MAYOR ATTACKED BY GUERRILLA GORILLA'_ next to his picture.

"'Gotham Mayor attacked by Guerrilla Gorilla?'" Wally read.

"Batman, please!" Robin said. "Tell me you're not sending us on this joke of a wild ape chase."

Hearne's eyes widened slightly at Robin's poor choice of actions.

"I never joke about the mission." Robin ducked his head, and while Hearne understood how he felt, he should have known better than to speak to Batman that way. "I've checked the sources. I've studied the patterns. Mayor Hill's encounter is only the latest in a series of incidents." Batman glanced at Kaldur. "Aqualad, you and your team will depart for India and check this out."

As the Team walked away, they muttered things to Kaldur, and Hearne walked up beside him.

"Speak your mind."

"I have nothing to say," she said. "You did the right thing. The thing any good leader should do."

Kaldur looked surprised by that, but Hearne didn't dwell on it as she followed loosely after the Team into the hangar where the Bioship was waiting. She ignored Robin and Wally, opting to ignore their angry stares as she sat down in the seat designated to her. 

"This is going to be fun!" Captain Marvel said. "Right, team?"

Hearne simply bit her tongue to ground herself from the situation. Calm mind, calm reality.

_* * *_

_**HEARNE WALKED OUT**_ of the Bioship, directly behind Captain Marvel. She swore to herself she wound figure out who he was. His abilities weren't biological, she could sense deep in her bones that they weren't. So what were they? Ancient? Magical? Mythical?

"Switch to stealth," Kaldur ordered, "and we'll review mission parameters."

"Parameters?" Wally said as his suit faded to black. "We don't need no stinkin' parameters."

"It's recon," Robin added. "We know what to do."

 _Cocky gets you killed_ , she thought to herself.

"Kid, Robin--"

"The three of us started this team because the Justice League was keeping secrets from _us_ ," Robin said. 

"Or did you forget that?" Wally rhetorically asked. "Like you forgot to tell us about the mole?"

They disappeared into the jungle, and Hearne wondered why no one had taught them that their anger gets them killed. They preached that anger wasn't the way to fight to Connor, yet they didn't practice it themselves? The Team seemed to be full of hypocrisy. 

"Come on," Connor said, taking hold of M'gann's arm, "I'll keep you safe."

M'gann tore her arm away angrily, and it was clear the two were talking telepathically by the way she folded her arms.

"I just want to protect you," Connor stated, clearly confused.

"Like Aqualad protected us?" Artemis argued. "I'm not sure your protection or your patronizing is good for our health."

The two stormed off into the jungle, and Hearne mentally tallied them off the list, too. Had no one taught them that splitting off would get them captured? They couldn't handle people on their own, not yet.

"Why didn't you stop them?" Connor said. "You're supposed to be in charge!"

"I am . . ."

Wordlessly, Connor bounded away, disappearing into the night sky like another star.

"Um, did I miss the part where you actually said what the plan was?" Captain Marvel asked.

Kaldur sighed, and the three of them set off. Captain Marvel talked, trying to keep a conversation afloat, and while he tried to tone it down, Hearne could tell he was excited to be with the Team. He was _definitely_ pre-teen, most people that age acted that way. Hearne never acted that way, she would have been reprimanded for it, but it seemed to be a common occurrence throughout the rest of the world. That, and rebellion against your parental figures, which Hearne had been shocked to hear from Athena. Apparently, that was a "right of passage" for your teenagers years.

The world was different than Hearne's was, she could tell by how the Team acted. Even Artemis, who was more stand off-ish than the others, warmed up quickly and trusted easily. Hearne didn't trust them, per say. She knew they would risk their life for her, as she would for them, but that was professional. She didn't trust them with secrets, nor anything else. The fact that people spoke so openly, argued so openly, didn't seem right. How could they talk to the League members like they did without fearing repercussions? Hearne couldn't imagine disrespecting their name like that.

"Guess this is where Mayor Hills' monkey business went down." Hearne's head snapped up at that, out of the foolish daze she had been in. "So at least we've confirmed his story, right?" Kaldur continued to walk forward blankly. "Aqualad?"

"My apologies, Captain," Kaldur said. "I am . . . plagued by doubts." Kaldur looked down to his feet, ashamed. "Perhaps I was wrong to withhold."

Before Hearne could say anything, the trees started to rustle. Not their leaves, or the brush--the _trees_. It took her a moment, but then she could hear it clearly. Large, heavy footsteps, like a giant's. The stones by her feet started to shake, and Kaldur shared an understanding glance with her right as the trees split.

An elephant burst through, enormously large--larger than physically possible--and as it ran forward, Captain Marvel quickly flew into the air, his fist connected to the elephant's head and sending it skidding back. The elephant's trunk wrapped around his foot before it swung him harshly into a tree that splintered under the force of it.

Another elephant burst through the treeline and Hearne jumped to the side, nearly slipping in the mud as she landed from her handspring. Kaldur had managed to jump out of the way as well, but just barely, because an elephant was right on his heels.

Hearne unhooked the curved dagger from her belt and stood, her stance rigid as she ran forward. There were collars around their necks, like the inhibitors used at Belle Reve, and while she didn't want to kill the animals, she would if she had to. 

The area around her became dark as she raised her hands, the dark mist swirling around the elephant, making it start to fling its trunk in panic.

"The collars!" she yelled. "I can hold it, but without getting them off, they'll still want to kill us!"

She rolled to the side as the other elephant charged forward, right as Captain Marvel ripped the collar off of the trapped elephant. Hearne released it and it ran off frantically in the jungle, and she felt sorry, because she knew that the feeling of the mist could feel awful. By the time she turned around, she only saw the backside of the other elephant as it fled into the trees, its collar lying sizzling on the ground.

Captain Marvel landed next to her soundlessly. "Pretty sweet the way you figured out that the problem was the collars." He smiled. "Also, that thing you did, with the darkness? That was so cool."

Hearne ignored his last statement. "The collars mean they're being controlled, not that they're more advanced intellectually. If those two had collars, as well as that gorilla in the newspaper, there's more."

Kaldur's eyes widened. "Which means the Team is also at risk." He pressed a finger to his com. "Team, report status." He winced, his eyes shutting tightly. "Com is jammed. And Miss Martian failed to establish a telepathic link before we split up."

"Actually," Captain Marvel said, "you let everyone split up before communications were set."

"They would not listen!"

"I guess." He shrugged. "But back at the Cave, Batman stopped everyone from arguing with one word."

"Because Batman is . . . Batman."

"Hey," he said, "you don't have to tell me. When I first joined the League, all he did was boss me around. And it's hard not to take it personally. But . . . I never disobeyed an order and that's probably what kept me alive."

"Batman takes command," Kaldur voiced. "He has to. For the good of the League. Thank you for helping me understand."

"Hey, Wisdom of Solomon."

Hearne's eyes widened, and Captain Marvel's did, too, once he realized she understood what it meant. Suddenly, everything pieced together. She had known of the wizard Shazam, her mother and father had spoken about him several times, of how he had worked with their parents on a great evil, and how their would be someone to take his place one day. 

Captain Marvel went to say something, but was quickly interrupted by M'gann in a telepathic link. _Aqualad, Olympia, can you hear me?_

 _Yes, Miss Martian_ , he said. _Can you hear me?_

"Artemis and I were attacked by animals wearing inhibitor collars like those used at convicts at Belle Reve prison."

"Cool, the tiger!" Captain Marvel said. "I'll be right back!"

Kaldur sighed. "Hey, Speed of Mercury."

Was she the only one who didn't know where Captain Marvel got his abilities?

 _Miss Martian_ , Kaldur said, _I need a telepathic link up with the entire team now._

 _Link established_.

 _Should he really still be giving us orders?_ Artemis scoffed. _And should you really be following them?_

 _Listen, please_ , Kaldur tried.

 _Oh, good_ , Wally said, _Aqualad's voice in my head. I've missed that._

 _Hey, Kaldur_ , Robin butted in, _K.F. and I were attacked by giant vultures. 'Course since we're moles you probably think we attacked ourselves._

 _If he did,_ Artemis added, _he wouldn't tell you_.

Hearne huffed as she followed Kaldur through the jungle in search of their missing partner. _Will of you stop this? You're making a fool of yourselves._

 _Oh, there you are again!_ Wally said. _How could I guess you'd come to his defense? Oh, right, because he's the only person who understands your cryptic messages. Seems like you're the mole._

She bit her tongue harshly. _I have no motive to be the mole, there's nothing any of you have that I would want, so remove that from your list of suspects. Two, I am defending Kaldur because his is the Team's leader, he is the one in charge, and his decision was the best for the Team. If you cannot understand that, use your brain, since you're so smart._

 _Use my brain?_ he scoffed. _Please! You're the only blindly defending people just because they're authority figures!_

Hearne followed Kaldur out into a clearing where metal posts stood. The two of them bent down to inspect the prints in the mud, undoubtedly ones made by a gorilla, or something similar. _And drag marks_.

 _I bet the two of them are talking about us right now_.

 _Guys,_ Artemis said, _Olympia wasn't the one who lied to us, remember?_

 _Oh, really?_ Robin retorted. _She hasn't told us anything about who she is, or why she can heal herself from death itself! She's--_

 _Enough,_ Kaldur ordered. Together, the two of them ripped down the metal posts. Captain Marvel has been captured and we must act as a team to save him.

 _Hmph,_ Wally said. _Under your leadership, I don't think--_

 _This is not up for debate._ The tone in Kaldur's voice made Hearne's spine instinctively straighten. _You all chose me to lead. When the mission is over, if you wish to select a new leader I will happily step down. But until that time, I am in command here_.

_* * *_

_**HEARNE SAT PERCHED**_ in a tree, eyes narrowed as she looked at the compound where Captain Marvel was undoubtedly being kept. The thought of animals behind controlled against their will made Hearne angry, but what was going to happen to Captain Marvel if they didn't get to him in time made her feel sympathy for him. He would be dissected, like a bug, and used for an experiment. 

_I'll fly over_ , M'gann suggested.

 _Negatory,_ Wally corrected. _The field extends like a dome over the whole compound_.

 _Pylons are insulated,_ Robin said, _but one good shock could cause a momentary gap._

_I see a target._

Hearne followed the aim of Artemis' bow to a control panel, which she assumed would shut down the dome and allow them in.

 _Then be ready to hit it,_ Kaldur ordered. _Be ready, all of you._

Kaldur quickly ran forward, raising his arms to the edge of the field, and electricity crackled from the eel tattoos on his arms, creating a small, barely visible hole in the field.

 _Now!_ Wally yelled, and Hearne saw Artemis' air fly through the gap and hit the button directly in the middle. The field fell, and without wasting a moment, Hearne jumped out of the tree, rolled up into a run, and stopped beside Kaldur.

She flinched as a monkey screeched, and with a sense of dread, she watched as monkeys spilled over the rooftop and down onto the ground in front of them.

One jumped towards Hearne and she kicked it in the chest, and she chased after it as it skidded across the ground on its back. Quickly, she removed the collar from its neck, and raised her hand as another one came towards her. It rammed into her un-moving fist, falling back onto the ground with an audible _smack_ , and Hearne removed its collar before it could even move.

"Remove their collars!" Kaldur yelled.

Hearne grabbed one out of the air that leaped over her head by the scruff of its neck, her lips twisting into pain as its small, sharp nails clawed at her arm. She managed to remove its collar with great difficulty, and the thing scrambled away into the jungle.

She watched as the last two ran off after Artemis' arrows ruined their collars, and deep down, Hearne knew this was too easy. She was right, because the doors opened to reveal a gorilla, the one from the newspaper, armed with the high-tech gun.

Suddenly, the gorilla turned around, grabbed something in the air, and Hearne watched as M'gann was thrown to the ground and knocked unconscious. That was going to make things complicated.

Wally ran forward, attempting to knock the gorilla over before it could harm her any further, but he harmlessly bounced off of its chest like a insignificant fly.

Hearne ran forward, her arms outstretched as dark mist coiled around them. For a moment, the gorilla looked frightened as the mist collided into it like a solid object, sending him directly through the wall.

The Team was right behind her, and with them a foot behind her, they entered the compound. She only hoped that Captain Marvel hadn't been killed yet, he was only a child.

Her line of sight settled on something a few feet from them. A robot-like machine, short and round around the edges, plated in dark metal, with a glass dome--and a brain sitting directly in the middle.

"It's the brain!" Wally explained.

"Uh," Artemis said, "I can see it's a brain."

"Not a brain," Wally groaned, " _The Brain_."

"In the flesh," 'The Brain' said, "so to speak." It turned towards the gorilla, who had just gotten to its feet. "Mallah."

Hearne tried to move as the gorilla pulled out a remote, her mind just barely putting the pieces together, but her body failed and dropped to the ground heavily. 

_Miss Martian, Superboy, now_.

M'gann followed Kaldur's orders, and the remote left the gorilla's hand to hover over her face, and Hearne let out a small, unnoticeable breath of relief as she got to her feet. Not even a second later, the wall behind the gorilla exploded inward, and the dust settled to reveal Connor, now sporting a ripped shirt and bite marks, and a large white wolf.

She didn't waste her time on the details and instead focused on the enemies ahead of her.

 _No,_ Kaldur said, _Olympia, find Captain Marvel, we can handle them._

Hesitantly, Hearne left, dodging a shot from The Brain as she ran down the hall to the occupied hospital table. She ran to it, her eyes trailing over his body for the appropriate way to free him. Hoping it was the right one, Hearne tore off the collar around his neck, and he bolted upright.

"Thanks!" he said. "Now, one good turn deserves another."

Hearne watched in confusion as Captain Marvel hopped off the table to uncollar a tiger on the floor, who wearily got to his feet after it was removed. Her heart softened at seeing the tiger, it reminded her of one that was at the compound, the one that she still wasn't sure was dead or not.

She turned to stand with Captain Marvel, facing the gorilla and The Brain, who were surrounded by the Team, and now a wolf as well as a tiger.

"No Mallah," The Brain said with a sigh as the gorilla began to growl, "this will not be our Waterloo."

Hearne's eyes widened at his words as weapons began to extend from the machine, aimed towards the Team.

"Au revoir, mes amis."

" _Get down!_ "

Before Hearne could run forward and shield them, the lights shut off, and she was left in darkness. Even with her advantage in the darkness, everything was dimly lit, but she could make out one thing: they were no longer there.

As the lights flickered back on, everyone's stances deflated.

"Wait," Wally said, "that big weapon thing was . . . a light switch?"

"No," Hearne grimly admitted, "it was a distraction."

Somehow, the lack of enemies in the room amplified the feeling within her: something was amiss.


	10. Not Everyone Is Like That

**HEARNE DID NOT WANT TO BE AT THE CAVE.** Ever since her near-death, she hadn't had the two day rule as before, meaning she could spend as much time with Athena as she wanted, as long as she reported to the Cave when she was needed and did her schoolwork. She had only been back twice, for debriefings that never happened. But, they had called her in, and of course, it had to be when her and Athena were right in the middle of a game of War. She had been winning, too, and Athena had placed a bet of a trip to the mall if she lost. Hearne was _this close_ to getting the pair of boots she wanted.

"It's now clear are enemies have formed some kind of secret society of super-villains," Batman said. "The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."

There had been a plant attack, with traces of the new Kobra venom in the plants system. Hearne knew that villains worked together, they had their own societies solely for them, but something like this was different. It wasn't a covert bombing of a vault, nor an attack on an enemy, it was a message.

"You got that right," Robin said as he began to type on the holographic keyboard. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Taipei . . ."

The screens displaying the live-videos of the cities vanished into static, and Hearne quickly looked to Robin, who winced in defense. "It's not me. Someone's cutting into the satellite signal. _All_ satellite signals."

Suddenly, the screens flickered back to life, and Hearne felt a small bolt of fear go through her at the sight of the Joker's manic smiling face. He didn't scare her, he was nothing but a man, but his lack of self awareness did. He reminded her painfully of the Damned, and at the mere thought of them, Hearne looked away from the screen momentarily.

The Joker knocked on the glass of the screen, his smile still maddeningly wide. "Ladies and gentlemen we interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement . . ."--the camera turned to reveal six other people in the room--"the Injustice League."

"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities," a man said. Hearne knew him from somewhere, but she couldn't remember his name. "If you wish to save them a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations." His accent was Vlatavian, she was sure of it. "There is no time limit. But the longer your governments wait . . ."

"The more we get to have our jollies," Joker finished. With one insane bout of laughter, the screen turned back to static.

"Roger that, Aquaman," Batman said into his com. "The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback but it won't come to that."

Robin continued typing away at the keyboard, and the video re-winded to when the Vlatavian man was speaking.

"Count Vertigo, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Adam, Wotan." Hearne knew some of those names, her family had worked with them before--well, while they were still breathing. "Seven heavy hitters. Probably behind nearly everything and everyone we've faced."

"There's your secret society," Wally whispered.

"Not so secret anymore," Artemis pointed out.

"Perhaps after India they realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer," Kaldur suggested.

"Yeah," Wally agreed, "that was their mistake. Right now I say we go kick some plant creature butt."

"The Justice League will handle the plants," Batman said. "I have a different job for this team." Wally groaned, and Artemis hit him on the shoulder. "With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it." 

A challenge.

"You realize what you're really asking them to do," Zatara said wearily.

"They're ready."

"Ready?" Wally echoed. "Ready for what?" Artemis hit him on the shoulder for the second time. "Ow! Will you cut that--"

"Hello, Wally," Artemis said sarcastically. "If the big guns are fighting plants who do you think we'll be fighting?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll . . ." Artemis pointed a finger to the screen and he gasped softly. "Ohh."

"Well, Batman," Zatara said, "I trust you're correct."

"I trust _you_ can locate the enemy."

"Indeed." The Team shifted anxiously. "Wotan's involvement suggests sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. Robin, if you would provide the holo-map I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerous activity." A holographic globe appeared and Zatara walked forward, hands raised towards it. " _Etacol retnecipe of yrecros._ " A small red dot blinked on the globe. " _There_. That is where you will find the Injustice League's central control system."

"Coordinates locked in. Louisiana Bayou."

_* * *_

_**HEARNE COULDN'T BELIEVE**_ that Connor had brought Wolf. If Wolf died, that was on him, because it had no business being here. Why did he even keep it? It belonged in somewhere other than the Cave, where it had somewhere to run without someone calling it back.

"What's in the duffel?" Wally abruptly asked.

"Plan B," Kaldur answered.

The Helmet of Fate. The two of them had argued when she saw him grab it, and she'd went as far to threaten him if he so much as picked the Helmet of Fate up. She knew better than any of them what it could do to someone, and she wouldn't let them be taken by it. She could put it on and get out, they could not. It was an easy deal, yet one that Kaldur was ignoring her because of.

M'gann groaned, and instantly Connor turned to her. "You alright?"

"Dizzy."

"Martians get airsick?" Robin asked.

"She does look a bit greener than usual," Wally agreed.

"Not me, her." Everyone looked at her quizzically. "The Bioship. She's trying to shield us, but . . ."

Hearne braced herself as the ship began to shake and barrel roll, her hands clenching onto the armrests as it straightened out.

"I think we--"

Suddenly, the Bioship shook, and began to flip in the air as it hit the ground, and Hearne winced as her knee slammed into the bottom of the table. She groaned, her head still spinning as the windows of the Bioship went dark. _Vines_ , a plant was grabbing hold of them.

The top of the Bioship opened into a small hole and Black Adam appeared, trying to open the gap wider.

M'gann hissed in pain. "He's hurting her!"

Connor jumped, his fist colliding loudly with Black Adam's face, and the vines began to drag them deeper as water flooded through the open hole in the roof.

Hearne quickly unbuckled herself, following behind Kaldur as she held one hand on her hip.

"No," Artemis said once the water reached her chest, "no way I'm nearly drowning three missions in a row."

As Kaldur ducked under, she did too, and she ripped one of hr sleeves off to reveal a trident. With her curved dagger in hand, she held it to the tattoo, and dark energy flowed through her hand, through the dagger, and made the tattoo swell with heat before it finally settled. With a small mental prayer, she clipped the dagger back and took a breath. It had worked, and she made a mental note to pray to Poseidon that night.

 _Out_ , came Kaldur's voice in the mind link, _everyone out_.

She followed them through the hole M'gann created in the bottom of the ship, coming up out of the water behind Kaldur, who still didn't want to speak to her. Why was he so angry? She was doing what would allow them to complete the mission, one without Kaldur vanishing within the helmet.

"Look," she said as they walked up onto the grassy bank, "you don't have to like what we agreed on. But it's the safest route, for all of us, trust that."

"How?" he whispered, angry. "Why would Nabu listen to you? He listens to no one."

"Trust that Nabu will listen to me," she whispered. "Nabu--"

Hearne dropped to the ground, her muscles tensing painfully as her mind seemed to fold in on itself repeatedly. It _hurt_ , and she felt herself paralyze in fear as she realized exactly what it was like. But that was impossible, they had died, _everyone had died_. She was the only one left, this was Count Vertigo, their powers felt similar, but his didn't dig up your darkest fears like theirs did.

Her fingers dug into the dirt as she stared numbly at the ground, terrified to lift her head as the fighting ceased. She couldn't look up and see them. If she did, she would die right there, right then, she couldn't do this again. She _couldn't_.

Someone's hands dug into the back of her suit and she rolled, fear pumping through her system as she leaped to her feet defensively, already springing to attack.

 _Olympia!_ M'gann yelled in the mind link. _We need to go, we have to complete the mission objective!_

She bit her tongue and nodded, disappearing alongside her and Robin into the woods. She pushed it down, locking it away as if it didn't happen, but she knew the truth. She had thought M'gann was her uncle, there to train her against the darkness again, and if M'gann hadn't said anything, Hearne would have killed her. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that her body was moving too fast to comprehend who it was.

Why was she like this? Why now? Hadn't she gotten over this? Hadn't she moved on from the training?

They didn't speak, they only trudged forward, Hearne following behind M'gann and Robin. She didn't feel like talking, not at the moment. It felt like someone had drained the adrenaline out of her system with a hot needle.

 _I blocked contact with Aqualad and the others,_ M'gann said, _should we--_

 _Sorry,_ Robin said, _that's not the gig. This is._ He parted the brush to reveal a large building with glass dome windows on the top, a giant plant sprouting out of the top. _The Injustice League central control system. Looks like that plant is acting as an antenna to control the other plants worldwide._

"Well, hello."

Hearne whipped around, her skin growing warm as vines wrapped around her body, pushing her shoulders painfully together. She struggled as darkness pooled around her body, stretching from her to the others, and they fell to the ground with a grunt as the vines rotted around them.

They split up, M'gann flying away as Ultra-Humantine followed her, while Hearne and Robin ran further into the woods with Poison Ivy on their tail. They dodged as trees fell and vines shot out of the ground towards them, and Hearne wished she could deal with Poison Ivy, but they had to distract them for the time being until the time was right.

Suddenly, as Hearne dodged under an outstretched vine, the plant exploded onto her, coating her suit in green liquid.

M'gann appeared out of thin air, two feet above her. _Olympia, Robin, she's made contact._

_Artemis?_

_No._

Hearne flinched as the Bioship dropped down beside them, and the three of them quickly ran inside, not bothering to buckle the belts as M'gann steered it towards the Team who flew overhead.

The Bioship crashed into Wotan, who was controlling a golden cage in the sky holding the Team, and he fell into the swamp below.

 _Olympia!_ M'gann yelled. _Go with them!_

Hearne dropped out of the Bioship, free-falling after the Team who had landed into the swamp. She landed in a kneel, mud splashing into her face. Wally ran forward, towards Count Vertigo and Black Adam, and she steeled her nerves as she chased after him. As Black Adam flung Wally away, Hearne firmly planted her feet into the mud.

"For a child, your magic is promising," Vertigo hummed. "Too bad it's no match for mine."

She raised her hands, wordlessly sending a wave of darkness forward, so pitch black not even she could see through it. She heard their screams before Vertigo's powers hit her. It left her stumbling, but despite the pulsing in her mind, she kept her arms outstretched. She heard the plant explode behind her, followed by the glass shattering, but she didn't dare look back as she took a step forward, increasing the intensity flowing towards her enemies.

" _Stop this!_ " Vertigo screeched. "You should be dead by now, peasant!"

Hearne stepped forward. "I'm richer than you, Vertigo, I'd watch your tongue."

She quickly turned, her arms outstretched beside her as she blocked a bolt of Wotan's lightning. This was starting to burn, as if someone had injected fire into her veins. Despite it, she forced herself to push harder, and Vertigo screamed as his powers faded on her, while Wotan's lightning didn't move.

Hearne looked over her shoulder, right as she saw a bag drop from a hole in the sky, and she rolled to the side, mud splashing at her feet as lightning crashed behind her, darkness no longer holding it or Vertigo.

As Kaldur held the Helmet of Fate in his hands, Hearne kicked him square in the arm, sending into the air and straight into her arms.

"Olympia, _don't--!_ "

But it was too late, because she knew even she couldn't win this fight without the Helmet of Fate, and she was the only one who could be set free.

The Helmet slipped over her face, and everything faded into black. A light from nowhere shined down on her in the abyss. A man stood three feet from her--Kent Nelson, dressed just as the last time they saw him.

"Well, I haven't seen one of you in years."

Hearne felt her shoulders sag. "My family spoke about you, how you took on the Helmet of Fate. They were angry."

"I suppose they would be," he said with a sigh. "After all, Nabu is your ancestor. One of them, at least. Your family held the Helmet sacred."

"They did," she said. "Some. My parents didn't believe of it as sacred, only that Nabu was. They believed it was an honor to wear the Helmet and be Nabu's host, but that the Helmet itself was not sacred."

"And what do you believe, child?"

"That Nabu is powerful, but the trust they had in him should have been limited."

Nelson smiled. "Smart girl, I knew from the moment I saw you with Wally that you'd surpass your family name."

Hearne's eyes widened. "No, I don't--"

"You do, because while the Fowlers were incredibly gifted, they had a cult mentality. Surely, you realize that now."

She looked down to her feet. "I do. And I hate it."

She could talk to Nelson, nothing could go wrong, the man was dead and trapped inside a helmet, and it wasn't as if Nabu would do anything with this information.

"Because they're gone?"

Hearne shut her eyes to prevent tears from falling down her cheeks. "Because they're gone and I hate them. I hate what they made me become, what they did to me, that I can't even feel anything because they ruined me." She took a shaky breath. "I don't even know who I am anymore. I died and--I haven't felt right since, it's like something happened, and I can't remember, but it changed something inside of me."

"It did," he said. "Even if you were healing yourself, you died. You went to the place all the dead go."

Her eyes shot open and met his. "The Underworld? I went--I went to the Underworld?"

"You did. And your mind knows something happened there, but as long as you're living, you cannot remember."

She blinked. "So then I must die."

Nelson's eyes widened. "No! No, that's not at all what I meant. You got some ounce of closure, but it was ripped away. Now you have to find your own, in the real world."

Hearne's eyebrows pinched together. "I must kill their murderers."

"Heavens no," Nelson sighed. "Stop thinking like how they taught you. You have to find closure how everyone else does."

"...Moving on?"

He smiled. "There. The pain will always be there, but over time, you learn to live with it. And you've started to learn how, but you can't forgive yourself for being the only one who survived."

"Because I was a child!" she yelled. "I was nine! Why me? Why not--why not my sister? She was so young! Or anyone else? I shouldn't have survived, I should have died in the bombing but--why didn't I die?"

"Fate doesn't want you gone yet, it has plans for you." He looked at the watch on his wrist. "Well, it looks like our time is running out, Hearne. Nabu's letting you go, just like you knew he would."

She bit her lip. "Please, tell me what I'm supposed to do. I can't do this, I can't not know anymore."

Nelson smiled as he sat a hand on her shoulder. "Learn to let people in. Not everyone wants to hurt you, not everyone is like your family. Make a new one, one without pain as punishment."

"Thank you, Nelson."

"Call me Kent, you've earned that. And tell Wally I said hello, will you? I've missed that boy."

In a blinding white light, everything disappeared, and she found the Helmet in her hands. Batman was there, and he was walking towards her, but she barely noticed that. Because before she could say a word, Kaldur had rushed forward, the Helmet had fallen out of her hands and into the mud, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Nabu said he would not let you go, that you were too precious of a host." Hearne was stunned. "It should have been me."

_Learn to let people in._

Hearne wrapped her arms around him, too, and despite the mud on his suit, she pressed her face to his chest. "It's okay, Kaldur. Not even Nabu could keep me away."

It seemed like if anyone was going to walk through the door that hadn't already, Kaldur would be the one to do it.


	11. Destined Isn't Destiny

**KALDUR HUFFED AND ACCEPTED HER HAND TO STAND.** "I think we should seek other partners."

Hearne shrugged, letting a small smile appear on her face. "Maybe I just outrank you, Aqualad."

He crossed his arms with a small smile of his own. "Perhaps you do."

Before Hearne could say anything about the fact that Kaldur had admitted she was above his level, Robin failed against Artemis and Black Canary stepped in.

"Good work, everyone. In fact, it's been a very productive week."

Hearne hadn't been home in that week, either. One day to spend a small amount of time with Athena, allow her suit to get repaired, and tell her what she'd heard from Nelson. But that was it, and while she could admit being at the Cave was more enjoyable without treating them like enemies, it didn't mean she wanted to be there constantly. The others got to leave, for school, but she had to stay with Kaldur, which she didn't mind, but it was annoying that they could leave while they couldn't. At least they were more synced than the others, though, the time spent doing combat earned them well.

"Yeah," Artemis said in respond to Black Canary, "for everyone but Kid Malingerer."

"Hey!" Wally protested, setting his drink down noisily. "Arm broken in combat against the Injustice League here."

"I've really enjoyed being your, uh, den mother this week," Black Canary said. "Especially you, Olympia, you and Kaldur perfected several maneuvers this week."

The two in question shared a look before the Zeta-Tube announced Zatara's entrance, and the machine stopped whirring to reveal the man walking toward them. He clicked the wall by the Zeta-Tube and a holographic screen appeared, and he began to type away.

_Access granted. Zatanna Zatara. A-03. Authoriziation, Zatara, 11._

He had a daughter? Hearne didn't know that. She'd heard about the infamous Zatara, but never his daughter. Granted, however old she was, she would have been significantly younger back then.

The Zeta-Tube whirred to a stop, the light receding to reveal someone roughly Hearne's age, dressed in a clothing like you would wear at a private school. Hearne would guess she was related to him, they had the same eyes and nose, the same mannerisms, though Zatanna's were much more shy and quiet.

"Team," Zatara introduced, "this is my daughter, Zatanna."

Shyly, she walked forward, and M'gann flew over to greet her. "Hi, I'm--"

"Robin!" Of course, Boy Wonder swooped in to meet the new girl. "I mean, I'm Robin. Ah, she's M'gann, and that's Wally, Artemis, Kaldur, Olympia, and Connor."

"Welcome to the Cave," Kaldur greeted. Hearne nodded to the slightest degree to acknowledge Zatanna.

"Uh, thanks."

"So, uh, y-you joined the Team?" Robin asked, and Hearne wondered how he could be so smart, yet so tone deaf.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Zatara interrupted as he walked toward the two. "This is strictly a visit. Though I am sorry we missed the training." He looked apologetically towards Black Canary as he approached her. "It's something from which Zatanna could benefit."

 _Do the rest of you get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara?_ M'gann wondered.

 _Not just Zatara,_ Connor pointed out. _I mean, why is Marvel still hangin' around?_

 _We are being babysat,_ Hearne said, her face scrunching in disgust. _It is just as awful as I was told._

 _It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado's tenure as our supervisor,_ Kaldur added.

 _Yeah,_ Robin agreed, _at least he trusted us._

 _If you ignore the fact we shouldn't have trusted him,_ Connor argued. _He was a traitor, that machine nearly got all of us killed._

 _As someone who died,_ Hearne said, _I do not blame Red Tornado. I doubt he knew about his siblings._

"Are you guys having a psychic conversation?" Zatanna said, turning the heads of everyone in the room. "'Cause I can't decide if that's cool or really rude."

"Alright, fine," Connor relented, "we were talking about Tornado. It's been weeks since his attack and the League hasn't told us anything."

"The League is searching for Tornado," Black Canary answered. "As well as the other androids that invaded the Cave and their creator, T.O. Morrow. Batman's made tracking them down our highest priority."

"But you've found none of the above," Robin pointed out, and while he did have a point, Hearne was shocked he'd spoken like that. "Not yet, but Tornado is Justice League. The Team is _not_ to pursue this."

"Why don't you take Zatanna on a, uh, a tour of the Cave?" Zatara suggested.

Hearne looked behind her to see Zatanna petting Wolf, who made her look small in comparison. Wally made "short jokes" because Wolf made Hearne look "like a child" when he stood next to her, because he wasn't that much smaller than her. Hearne promised Wally she would ruin him next time they trained together, and he hadn't made one since.

"You're giving a tour?" Captain Marvel said, now carrying a plate of nachos for an unknown reason. "Cool!"

"Actually," Connor ventured, "I was hoping you'd take Wolf outside. He needs the exercise. We'll join you in a few."

"Sure, sure, I can do that. Come on, Wolf." He ran off towards the door, Wolf right on his heels.

"What about my nachos?"

Ah, so they were Wally's, which made sense now that it was revealed.

They left after that, Hearne between Kaldur and Connor, the others farther behind them as they made their way to the joint living room and kitchen.

"For the record, I think we shouldn't do this." Hearne bit her lip. "The Justice League will have our heads, we'll get in trouble and--"

"They won't 'have our heads,'" Connor said with a huff. "They can't do anything. You're untouchable, anyway."

She blinked. She was untouchable, wasn't she? Still, they had morphed into authority figures, and the idea of disobeying authority figures in such a way was haunting. If her mother was here, she would strike her across the face. No, anyone would have, it wasn't excluded to only her mother. Yet no one did that here. It was strange, for subordinates to act so disrespectful and go unchecked. Hearne didn't like it, nor the feeling it left.

"We're not really taking a tour, are we?" Zatanna asked.

"No," Connor answered, "we're hunting down that robot.

"Yes, we are," Kaldur agreed.

"Oh, wow, out loud and everything."

"What about new girl?" Artemis asked, skeptical.

"I'm sure she won't tell," Robin said, overly convinced. He needed a suitor, it was painful to listen to him.

"I can't tell. Not if you kidnap me."

Hearne blinked, looking to Kaldur in a _can we do that?_ way, right as Artemis said "oh, she's gonna fit in great."

Their Team was already large enough, Hearne was just learning to like them, why did it have to be larger? With a stranger, at that?

_* * *_

**_HEARNE DID NOT_** like this. She nearly didn't go, but she relented once Artemis told her that if she didn't, she wouldn't go, either. Sometimes, Artemis' face looked very punchable, when Hearne thought about it.

"M'gann," came Black Canary's voice in the Bioship's speakers, "the Bioship wasn't authorized for departure."

"We're kidnapping Zatanna," M'gann quickly said, "to, uh, show her Happy Harbor. Be back soon!"

"Roger that. Have fun."

As soon as they disconnected, Robin spoke. "Where are we going? Batman is the world's greatest detective and he searched for Tornado and Morrow in every logical location. If we're gonna do better, we need an illogical solution. A truly dumb idea."

As if on cue, everyone looked toward Wally--even Hearne.

"As a matter of fact," he said, "I do have an idea."

Hearne was definitely going to regret this, Artemis' threat wasn't serious enough to warrant this type of foolery.

_* * *_

_**"WARDEN STRANGE OWED**_ us a favor for stopping last month's prison break. He's given us five minutes with you."

M'gann looked as intimidating as a kitten, and not the deadly kind.

"Spill, Ivo," Connor said. "how do we find T.O. Morrow and his Reds?"

"Now, why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?"

"Because," Wally threw out, "and here's a truly dumb idea, you're Morrow's biggest competitor in the evil android game. Who better to keep track of what he's up to, and where?"

"Ah," Ivo hummed, "I see your point. So let me rephrase. Why in the world would I tell you how to find Morrow?"

"He knows," Kaldur said to M'gann, "do what you must."

Her eyes glowed green, and Hearne believed if she was someone entirely different, that would terrify her.

"Oh, please," Ivo laughed. "As if I've never faced a telepath before."

Zatanna walked forward and lent over the chair, making Ivo lean away from her. " _Trulb tuo S'worrom eurt noitacol!_ "

"Morrow's in a secret underground base beneath Yellowstone National Park one hundred meters south of Old Faithful." He clapped his hands over his mouth. "Wait! Wh-what just happened?"

The simplicity of magician's words always surprised Hearne, because with the right abilities, mankind's greatest gift turned into their worst enemy.

_* * *_

**_"BLACK OUT ALL_** external communication," Kaldur ordered. "Soon, Canary and Zatara, Batman too, I imagine, will know of our visit to Professor Ivo. We haven't much time."

"Look," Robin said with a slight nervous laugh, "I'm trying to be all nonchalant here."

"Why? Be as chalant as you like."

Hearne's face pinched in disgust. Zatanna and Robin could do with a room of their own.

"I think we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers," Artemis cut in. "Could you teleport us to Tornado or Morrow or to a cell or force his bots to surrender?"

"Or create peace on Earth for all time?" Zatanna finished. "Zatara couldn't even do all that, and I'm nowhere near on my dad's level. I need to know a spell cold, or else have time to prep it. Plus, all magic requires energy which usually has to come from within. I just can't make the impossible happen at will."

"What's our ETA to Yellowstone?" Connor asked impatiently. "I'm way past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor."

"I doubt Red Tornado betrayed us," Hearne stated. "He wouldn't have waited this long, and he wouldn't have done it at the Cave. Wouldn't he do it at the Watchtower? Or the Hall of Justice? In a televised press conference, even? He is smarter than that, and if he did betray us, he would have taken down the League first. There was three of them, they could have taken everyone."

Connor's face twisted in anger. "You saw him, he went with the people who killed you!"

Zatanna blanched. "You _died?_ "

"That's irrelevant, but yes." She sighed angrily. "It doesn't make sense for Red Tornado and the others to not attack somewhere else if there was an endgame to this. They came to the Cave, looking for him, and Morrow knew he was there despite the Cave being retired to the public for decades. They infected him with a virus, and I think he deserves to prove that he's more than his maker's machine."

Connor's lips pursed at that and he turned around, out of sight, and Hearne realized how that sounded to everyone else. To her, she was talking about herself, and how her family had made her a machine that functioned without morals or feeling, but it seemed like she was talking about Connor, who up until a few months ago, was an incubating weapon for Cadmus.

Artemis gave her a thumbs up, and Hearne blinked in surprise before she offered a hesitant, unsure one in response. This was strange. Before, Artemis had acted like this, and was persistent despite Hearne ignoring all her attempts at friendship, but now? She didn't mind Artemis' attempts, nor their banter, maybe she even _liked_ it. It made her feel like she was stranded in the middle of a foreign ocean, filled with deadly animals, yet she didn't mind it. The uncertainty was . . . refreshing.

 _Weak,_ she was being foolish. She was liking being in uncertain territory, a place that would get her mercilessly killed. Her family would have ruined her for this, they would have made sure she never did this, they would have called her a disgrace to the family name, a disgrace to the gift from Hades. Then it hit her, with startling force, that if they were here, none of this would be happening. She would still be living at the compound, already going through the process of Bonding, never even thinking about letting her guard down for someone like this. And with a more horrifying thought, as if someone had struck her across the face, she realized she didn't want that anymore. The life that had been tailored for her--tailored for all of her kind--wasn't one she sought out anymore.

She didn't want a suitor, she wanted a significant other. Not right now, but at some point in the future, if that time ever came, Hearne would want a boyfriend. It seemed . . . wrong, awful, even, yet it felt perfectly right.

Hearne flinched as everyone started to get out of their seat, the sudden movement making her muscles coil nearly painfully, but she stood with them after she realized what was happening.

"Stealth mode."

At Kaldur's order, they all touched the chest of their suits to turn into black, but Hearne didn't, since hers was always black, save for the white symbol in the middle.

"This isn't going to go well, is it?" Artemis whispered.

"No, it isn't." Hearne followed them out of the Bioship, Artemis beside her. "The League will have the Team on suspension for this."

"Us," Artemis corrected, and Hearne tensed at it. "Don't worry, I understand how you feel. I don't know why you feel like that, but I've had someone make me feel the same way. It's okay to feel like an outsider."

"I suppose so," she sighed. "It doesn't mean I like it, but I understand why I feel this way. Despite that, it doesn't make it easy."

"Yeah, wish someone could have told me that earlier. I had to learn that the hard way."

"You understand Connor is listening?"

"Oh, definitely, he's a creep."

As they came to a stop, Connor shot a look over his shoulder, and Artemis laughed silently as Robin pulled out his holographic computer screen. "Ivo was right. There's something down there."

They ran forward, and despite Hearne's mind telling her it wasn't smart, she did, too. Suddenly, a wind storm came out of nowhere, and Hearne barely braced herself before she was blown back, her back crashing into the ground. She let out a grunt, her back aching as she forced herself into a kneel.

 _A message in the sand_.

"Why, Tornado?" M'gann screamed. "Why are you doing this?"

 _Message recieved?_ she asked in the mind link.

"Who cares why?" Connor yelled. "Nail him!"

Connor ran forward, Kaldur quick behind. "Superboy, maneuver seven!" Kaldur leaped into the air, pivoting off of Connor's hand, only for Red Tornado to smack him across the face once he neared him. Hearne ran forward, only to be knocked backward as Kaldur fell onto her and Connor. Connor crawled away before falling back down, as if a tunnel of wind had knocked him over.

Together, she and Kaldur lay on the ground, their legs tangled together, sides touching as they buried their faces into the dirt like they had been knocked unconscious. Hearne's back was beginning to ache, but she held off from allowing her body to heal itself, the pain did her good, reminded her not to fail again.

As Hearne's heart thumped anxiously in her chest, she felt the ground shake as part of it was uprooted, and she and Kaldur raised their heads to see a new robot--one that hadn't existed before--next to Red Tornado, the message in the sand floating behind him.

She quickly stood, standing firmly in her place as Connor and Kaldur ran forward beforing jumping in the air, punching and slicing through the rocks falling to the ground to get to the two robots.

Hearne rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding getting her leg crushed by a boulder, her back cramping with pain, and she numbly wondered if perhaps she'd pulled a muscle.

 _Zatanna?_ came Robin's voice.

_I'm good. The Red Tornado's getting away. Is he abandoning us?_

Hearne looked up to see Red Tornado's retreating figure in the sky, and while she knew he would never flee like that, a part of her--the part she despised--coiled within her like a viper, reminding her that no one could be trusted, everyone was an enemy, and by believing Red Tornado could be anything but got her into this situation.

 _I don't believe that,_ M'gann said, and Hearne wanted to believe it.

Hearne took a deep breath, prayed to Hades that this would go well, and her feet left the ground, a platform of darkness surrounding her, carrying her through the air. _She did it_ , just like the Sacred Ones. Hearne barely had time to think of her excitement before she had to speed up and avoid a rock thrown her way, which fell through the cloud of darkness and nearly hit Zatanna on the ground below.

"You stand no chance against me, humans."

" _We're not human!_ "

She, Connor, and M'gann converged on the robot, and Hearne could feel an overwhelming sense of raw _power_. Like she held the world in her grasp, and all she had to do was prick the seal and it would spill free. Her skin was buzzing with opportunity.

"My apologies," the robot said, "I suppose the properly inclusive term is"--large, suffocating hands made of rock closed around them--"meatbags."

Hearne felt pressure build in her chest before the hands split apart, erupting outward, and the feeling of her rib cage cracking disappeared. Connor and M'gann fell, clearly injured and not entirely there, and she hesitated. Because why would she help them? But then she realized what she was doing, that they could _die_ , and she kicked into action. She free-fell after them, narrowly catching up to their limp bodies before they hit the ground, and managed to catch them with a cloud of darkness. Truthfully, she wasn't sure it would work, or if it would have any effects.

Instantly, as Hearne's feet touched the ground and they hit the two second mark of being in the darkness, they shot up as if someone had struck them. The darkness disappeared, no longer surrounding them, and Connor looked around, eyes wide.

"What was that?"

"It was nothing," she quickly answered. "Did it hurt you?"

It was only a few seconds, but she had seen what it could do it that amount of time to the weak. The thought made her stomach flip, and she wondered if that could really happen to Connor, of all people.

"No, I don't--"

Something exploded, and Hearne got into a defensive position, expecting something to come towards her. Nothing did.

"Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move."

" _Ekoms emoceb a dlofnilb!_ "

Smoke wrapped around the robot, furling around his 'eyes,' and Hearne blew a strand of hair out of her face insistently. 

"Olympia, don't," M'gann said, carefully getting to her feet. "He knows our moves, he watched us for months. Anything you do, he'll stop it."

She bit her lip harshly, hard enough for it to bleed. "Red Tornado doesn't know everything."

Before she could leap into the air, the ground shook beneath her feet. _The volcano_. It spewed lava towards the sky, and for a brief moment, the world stilled as Hearne stared at it. Then, the reality of the situation crashed into her, and she realized if they couldn't stop it, she would have to. An eruption of this magnitude wouldn't kill only them, but millions.

"Get everyone away."

" _What?_ "

" _Get them out_ ," Hearne repeated. "I can do this, I know I can, but if any of you are here, you're dead."

"Olympia," M'gann tried, "it's impossible--"

"I've seen it before, I can do it."

The ground split beneath her feet, and with one wide-eyed look towards M'gann, she disappeared beneath the Earth.

" _Olympia!_ "

 _Go,_ she responded in the mind link, and even there, her voice was rigid. _I can get out, fight him._

Hearne could feel her fingertips slipping, raw and bloody against sharp edges of stone, the skin splitting apart right before her eyes. A drop of blood dripped onto her face, and her feet kicked below her as she tried to gain some form of mindset, enough to get anything below her. Relief filled her every muscle as she felt darkness envelop her, like a cold, comforting blanket, and she quickly raised in altitude, bursting out of the crack in the Earth to come to a kneeling stop beside Connor, who stood with the others, facing the robot.

"Glad you made it."

"Me too." Her fingers were bloody, scarlet liquid mixing with sweat and dirt as it dripped onto the ground. A column of water shot up behind them, pushing the robot into the pit of magma.

"Nice hit!" Robin yelled.

"The hit was not mine." Kaldur pointed between the vast space of him and Hearne, where the male robot from the Cave stood. "Look!"

It raised itself into the air, a column of water behind it, and two spurts shot beside its arms to push the other robot further into the magma. Red Tornado came down from the sky, bursting the rock holding the robot in half, sending him back down into the boiling hot substance.

This was handled, now.

The female robot circled above, balls of fire hitting the robot square in the chest, but only minorly seeming to effect it. She crashed down into the magma, her hands clashing with his.

"Sister, brothers, stop!"

The male one joined, and together, he and the 'sister' grabbed an arm. Red Tornado joined to grab his legs, and they all began to pull as the youngest began to melt into the magma.

With a jolt, Hearne got over the strange sadness she felt for them, and leaped forward, darkness beneath her feet as she gripped the boiling hot metal of Red Tornado's shoulders and wrenched him out of the lava. She sat him down on the ground near the Team, her knee holding him up--or what was left of him, since everything from his knees down had melted away.

"Tornado, listen," Wally yelled, "we're on the verge of a stage three supervolcano eruption. There's no turning back from that. We need to vent pressure, fast. But the ash cloud will bring on a worldwide nuclear winter, unless you divert it."

Fantastic odds.

Red Tornado nodded stiffly, and Hearne looked to him, her message clear, and while his robot face could physically hold no emotion, she understood what he meant. No, even though he knew she might be able to handle this, he would not let her do it.

"Triangulate around the pressure locus."

Robin pulled out his holographic screen. "Right. There, there, and there."

Artemis fired an arrow in the air, in sync with them, and once it got to a high enough altitude, it split into three small rockets and hit the volcano.

Hearne moved back and smoke started to flood out of the mountain and Red Tornado took to the air, the current of air beneath him wiping any from her lungs as he disappeared. 

"He can't die, can he?" Zatanna asked, worriedly, as the smoke began to vanish. "Right?"

"Everyone can die," Hearne answered, and the certainty in her voice made everyone look to her with sharp expressions. "Sorry, but his legs are gone. He is not immune."

The tracks of magma on the volcano deflated sadly, decreasing to a black, caked-on substance, rather than full of life and color.

" _Yes!_ " Wally exclaimed, pumping his casted-arm in the air.

Red Tornado fell to his knees twenty feet from them, and in unison, they hurried over, Hearne in the front.

"Are you okay?" Zatanna quickly asked. "Are you hurt?"

"I will be fine, in time."

"You gave us a scare," Hearne said with a sigh. "We thought you might have been the enemy."

"Would an enemy try to delete your fight analysis?"

Robin blinked in surprise. "You tried to delete that?"

"Of course, I knew it would be you to find me. I could not have them knowing your ways."

As Red Tornado continued to talk with them, Artemis hurried over. She pointed a finger at Hearne's hands. "Do you need something for that? I have an emergency bandage in my quiver, it's a bit old, but it could work."

Hearne shook her head. "It is fine, just a scrape."

Artemis didn't look impressed, but shrugged nonetheless. "Alright, but those look gross, just saying."

For the first time that day--no, since she met them--Hearne didn't try to hold back her smile. She simply smiled. It made her wonder if something so small, that made you feel so good, could truly be dangerous.


	12. How to Be Human

**STANDING THERE, WATCHING A LIVE FEED OF THE ATTACK ON THE INCOMING ALIEN SHIP, HEARNE KNEW IT WASN'T REAL.** A simulation, one they had all agreed to. Distantly, in the deepest parts of her mind, she was screaming, clawing to escape, regretting her choice of letting them invade her mind. But it was too late, it had started, and her mind had been wiped of her anger towards it. Her mind felt at ease, the contents of her mind seemingly muddled, and in the haze of the simulation, she couldn't seem to mind it.

Even as the League members were being killed in front of her eyes, only a small part of her felt anything. Minuscule, and her mind kept stabbing her with the fact that even if it was real, she wouldn't feel anything for them.

Batman vanished, just as the others did, and a transmission from Zatara took the place of his feed.

"Tornado, did you--"

"Yes, Zatara, we saw. Celestial defenses have failed. Initiate all terrestrial measures."

"Affirmative. See you in the field."

Red Tornado turned as the transmission disappeared, his blank face staring towards them. "I must join the League. We will protect the planet at all costs. But should we fail, the responsibility falls to you."

With one glance towards his teammates, Kaldur spoke for all of them. "We stand ready."

Within minutes, Red Tornado was gone, leaving the Team in the common room.

"Guess it's time to check in with the world," Robin mused.

With a few clicks on his hologlove, a holographic screen appeared in the air, displaying a broadcast from GBS news, with Iris West-Allen. The Flash's wife, the reporter.

"This is Iris West-Allen, reporting live," she said, her tone firm. "The extraterrestrials have brought their relentless global attack to central city." A pillar hundreds of feet behind Iris fell to the ground, and Hearne watched as the people behind her vanished and she was swooped away be the Flash.

Distantly, from somewhere out of view, Zatara chanted, and the cameraman appeared in front of him, on a rooftop, where the Flash and Iris now stood.

"You should both be safe here," Zatara assured, but it didn't sound convincing, not to anyone. "At least for now."

"Thank you . . . Flash and Zatara."

The two heroes disappeared out of view of the camera, the sound of sirens filling the void.

"Denny, you okay?" Iris asked.

The cameraman offered a thumbs up, and Iris smiled.

"As you can see," she said, "the Justice League is attempting to hold the line." The camera turned to show a crowd of people on a rooftop, screaming, as Flash and Zatara rushed to help. Within milliseconds of their arrival, an alien ship fired on them, and the building began to crumble amongst the smoke.

Iris tearfully whispered incoherently as an alien ship appeared in view behind her. The screen split to show Cat Grant in their headquarters, frantic. " _Iris!_ " she yelled. "Iris, get out of there!"

Iris' screen flickered and displayed a 'no signal' symbol, and Cat deflated. "I'm sorry, we're experiencing technical difficulties from our Central City feed," she said, and Hearne recognized the numbness in her voice. "We take you now to a devastated Taipei where another League contingent is having a bit more luck."

The Hawks flew in the sky, but not for long, because the two disappeared in flashes of yellow light, just as the other members of the League had. They looked like ash, crumbling and floating in the wind, and Hearne wondered if it would feel the same. Green Arrow shot as quick as she could while Black Canary screamed at oncoming ships, but the two of them were no match for dozens. They, too, vanished like ash.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Cat said, "we've lost Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the Hawks. Other heroes reported dead or missing include Batman, Icon, Atom, and Aquaman."

The broadcast failed, and Hearne focused on the screen with Red Tornado and Diana, seemingly the last two left. Diana roped in a ship with her lasso and sent it towards another, destroying the two in a small, fiery explosion. Hearne's breath caught in her throat momentarily when Diana instinctively tried to deflect the beam from the ship and succumbed to the light. It was nothing but a simulation, but a small part of her mind ridiculed her for even allowing Diana to die in a simulation.

"Red Tornado to Cave," came his voice, booming in the empty room. "I fear I am all that remains of the League."

"RT," Robin called out, but when Red Tornado didn't return the call, they knew what had become of him.

"We are Earth's heroes now."

Hearne didn't believe Kaldur, she was the furthest thing from a hero.

"So what are we waiting for?" Connor asked impatiently. "A theme song?"

"A strategy," Kaldur corrected. "Earth's weapons are ineffective. And it has been made tragically clear a direct attack will not succeed."

"Checking satellite imagery," Robin said, typing on his hologlove. A large holographic screen appeared before them, displaying the globe with large, red hot spots dotted around it. "Here's where the aliens are now."

"This one get lost?"

As Connor pointed, Hearne's eyes caught on the spot he was referring to. In the middle of the Arctic, there was a red circle, smaller than the rest.

"That's Superman's Fortress of Solitude," Robin said, barely keeping the awe out of his tone.

"Superman has a Fortress of Solitude?" Connor questioned.

"It's power source must have attracted the aliens' attention," Robin suggested. "At least enough to send a scout ship to investigate."

"Must be some fortress," Connor huffed.

Hearne tuned out his and M'gann's conversation. Connor always struggled with Superman not wanting him there, and while Hearne understood that must make him feel uncomfortable, she would rather him keep it to himself. It wasn't hard, either.

"We will target this lone ship," Kaldur stated.

"Yeah," Wally agreed, "break it down, build more, hit those ugly aliens with their own mojo!" Artemis elbowed him firmly in the arm. "Ow!" Artemis whispered something into his ear, which Hearne could make out, but didn't care for. "Uh, heh," he said awkwardly, "not that all aliens are automatically ugly."

Hearne sighed. "Are we ready to go?"

Deep in the pit of her stomach, she had a feeling this wasn't going to go well.

_* * *_

**_HEARNE HID BEHIND_** a small mountain of ice, her lips pursed tightly to keep herself from letting her teeth chatter involuntarily. She had thrown a white stealth jacket, lined with fur, over her shoulders and fastened it, and even with her added natural heat, she was still cold. She didn't spend time often in the cold, this was unnatural territory for her.

She heard the sound of a muted explosion behind her, followed by M'gann's voice in the mind link.

 _Communications disabled. Propulsion disabled_.

Hearne looked around the bend of ice, but quickly jumped to the next one, landed in a harsh, painful roll and kneel. Where she had previously been was gone, shot by the ship's weapon.

 _And ET's are sealed inside,_ Artemis reported.

When she looked again, Wolf was latched onto the cannon, while Connor tried to pull it free. Hearne burst out of her hiding place, just as Robin pivoted off of Wally's shoulders. He landed on the top of the ship and began to disable it as Hearne reached it.

 _Identifying weapon's structural stress points and links to the ship,_ Robin said. _Here, here, and here._

At his pointing, M'gann targeted the three points, and Connor began to yank it free. Hearne's eyes widened and she outstretched a hand, but not even she could move fast enough to stop it. Wolf knocked him out of the way, landing in front of a rogue beam, taking the hit from Connor.

As Connor rolled to a kneel on the ground, Hearne heard M'gann's voice inside her head. _Wolf_.

 _There was no indication of feedback,_ Robin said, _I'm sorry._

_Can't do anything for him now._

Even though they all knew the death wasn't real, the others seemed to be effected by it. Connor ripped the weapon free, offering a grim _'let's go'_ as he leaped onto the top of the Bioship. M'gann began integrating it into the ship, and Hearne hoped it wouldn't take long.

_Rerouting systems to integrate weapon into ship's biomatrix. We'll need to decamouflage for a few minutes._

Hearne jumped onto the roof of the ship behind the Team, save for Artemis, who was still on the ground.

 _We may not have a few minutes,_ Robin added hastily.

Hearne turned to see two alien ships headed towards them, far enough away that she was nearly certain it couldn't directly hit them.

 _Miss Martian,_ Kaldur commanded, _open fire!_

_Can't, weapon systems are offline to incorporate the new cannon. And that's not fully integrated yet, either._

_Got you covered!_ Artemis yelled. _Get inside, I'm almost there!_ She fired two arrows, both of which made a ship engulf in smoke and fall towards the ground. Hearne watched as a beached ship's cannon pointed directly towards Artemis.

_Artemis, run for cover!_

Instinctively, she turned, arrow pointed directly at the ship--her attempts futile as the beam engulfed her in a disintegrating light.

Hearne's eyes widened, her mind going blank as their screams echoed in her ears. Suddenly, her mind could not comprehend that this was a simulation, and Artemis' death felt painfully real. Numbly, she felt herself start to shut down, slowly, as Kaldur sent a wave of water towards the ship, particles of ice slicing it into an explosion.

Wally yelled, angry, but Hearne simply stood there. Her eyes were no longer wide, they only stared, blankly, at where the ship used to be.

Mother always said when something felt good, it was going to die before your eyes.

_* * *_

_**WHEN THEY REACHED** _the Hall of Justice, it was decimated. Members of the United States military stood there, and as their cheers filled her ears, Hearne wanted it to end. She wasn't a hero, she was never meant for that, these happy shouts were displaced.

"I'm not Superman," Connor said, breaking her from her haze.

"I don't know who you are, son," a man said ('Eiling,' based on the name on his chest'). "And right now, I don't care. You wear the 'S' and you got the job done.

"I'm not Superman."

"Tell that to the enemy." As Kaldur walked forward, the man saluted. "General Wade Eiling, U.S. Air Force."

"Aqualad, Justice League." He sounded different, more mature than she had ever heard him speak. "We'll help you salvage as many of the aliens' cannons as possible, then we start taking back what is ours."

_* * *_

**_"I NEED TO_** make a call," Hearne stated.

The soldier--Franklin, by his tag--blinked surprisingly at her. "Um, a call? Like a phone call?"

"Yes, a phone call," she answered stiffly. "Do you have a phone with you?"

Hastily, he pulled one from his right leg pocket. "Yes, this is--well, you probably know how it works, seeing as you're--y'know--"

She nodded slightly, took the phone, and quickly dialed the number burned into her brain. It rang twice as she held it to her ear before they picked up.

"Hearne, is this you?" came Athena's frantic voice. "Please, let it be you."

"It's me," she said, her nails digging into her palm. "Are you well?"

"I'm--I'm not hurt," Athena answered. "He's gone, isn't he?"

Hearne bit her tongue. "He is. I saw it happen, I'm sorry."

Athena let out a sob, one muffled just-barely by her hand. "Oh my g-god, I can't believe he's gone. Bruce can't--he can't be gone!"

"I need you to get to the Cave," Hearne ordered. " _Now._ We both know this is not going to get any better, and for now, the Cave is your safest option. Understand?"

She didn't answer, she only barely held back a sob, but Hearne knew she did. "I will meet you there, and we'll figure this out. This is not our final fight."

Without waiting for Athena's response, she hung up the phone and handed it to the soldier. "Thank you . . . Franklin."

He took it hesitantly. "You're welcome--what do I call you? I've never seen you before.

"Olympian. As in the Gods."

At Kaldur's call, Hearne sprinted off, and gathered with the Team in the Hall of Justice. While it was still standing, it wasn't in good condition. Support beams were collapsed, glass shattered, and statues toppled.

"They're really gone," Robin said, defeated.

She should have known this was how this would end. Hearne wasn't a hero, nor was she a good person. She was a heartless, soulless monster. This was her fault. If she hadn't done this, these people would still be alive, and she wouldn't feel anything for them. If she hadn't done this, she wouldn't feel empty--hollow--worse than before. Because before, she didn't feel like a monster for feeling this way. Before, feeling nothing was normal, there wasn't any different.

Hearne should feel something. These people died, so did Artemis. But it felt like before, when she was alone, and those first years with Athena--soldier, she had called it. Monster is what it was.

Her head snapped upward as M'gann moved the head of Martian Manhunter's statue. There, where it sat, was Martian Manhunter.

"Uncle J'onn!"

As M'gann moved forward to embrace her uncle, Kaldur shot in front of her. _M'gann, check his mind. Make sure he is whom he appears to be._

 _It's him,_ she assured. _He's real, and he's alive!_

"But we saw you get disintegrated," Connor stated. "You and Superman. And everyone."

"Yes, I remember," Martian Manhunter said weakly, leaning onto M'gann as he held his head. "But . . . I cannot remember how I survived. Or how I arrived here."

"Maybe you were density shifting and the beam passed right through you," M'gann offered hopefully.

"Scrambling your brains along the way!" Robin added.

"My mind _is_ clouded. I feel certain I had something important to tell you."

Hearne didn't believe this, not for a second. It didn't make any sense. Every instinct she had demanded to kill him, right then and there, but she knew the fallout would be too great. M'gann would undoubtedly--whether she purposely meant to or not--kill her. Still, if he proved to be anything but Martian Manhunter, Hearne wouldn't hesitate.

_Hello, Wally, come on!_

Robin looked to Wally, and he frantically gestured for him to follow. The rest of them stayed while the two ran out of the front doors.

"Are you alright?" Kaldur asked, placing a hand on Hearne's arm.

She flinched, noticeable enough that he removed his hand. "I'm fine. Things like this are inevitable."

He frowned, slightly, just as he always did. "This is not inevitable. This is catastrophic, you can mourn this."

"Mourning is for the weak," she said, her tone venomous. "I do not need to mourn."

Before Kaldur could speak, Wally's voice filled their heads.

_I knew it! Look. It's giving off zanopenes, the same stuff that powers our Zeta Tubes. This thing doesn't disintegrate, it-it teleports! Artemis is alive!_

Maybe, Robin said, _but--_

_No maybes. They're all alive!_

"That must have been what you wanted to tell us," M'gann said, happy to have found a reason why this tied together.

Hearne's muscles coiled tightly as the ground shook, glass shattering and spraying down onto her.

 _We're on our way,_ Kaldur hastily said, his tattoos glowing white.

 _Negative,_ Robin said, we can't win this. _Miss Martian, camo the Bioship._

As Hearne unhooked the curved dagger from her belt, M'gann and Martian Manhunted screamed, crumpling to the the ground limply.

Connor and Kaldur rushed forward to help them, but Hearne stood in her spot, gripping her dagger tightly.

Tears streamed down M'gann's cheeks as she stared blankly at the broken skylights. "That--that didn't feel like--"

 _We're falling back,_ Robin reported, and moments later, he, Wally, and a dozen soldiers poured into the room.

"We're trapped," Eiling said, gripping his gun like a lifeline.

A door opened, seemingly done by Kaldur's pressing of the keypad. "Maybe not."

They all filed in through the door, into a library that had been destroyed, and the soldiers took position, aiming their guns to the viewing windows at the tops of the walls.

"We can all zeta to the Cave if you can grant us computer clearance to access the tubes," Kaldur said.

Martian Manhunter nodded, still leaning on M'gann. "I can only authorize one at a time."

"Send the soldiers, first."

"Belay that!" Eiling yelled. "You six are assets we cannot afford to lose."

With a moment of hesitation, Kaldur nodded to Martian Manhunter. The Martian stepped forward and the computer began to scan him. "Override. Martian Manhunter, 07."

_Recognized. Access Granted._

He quickly walked through, followed by M'gann, then Robin. Just as it scanned Wally, the entrance from the doors blew, sending soldiers flying, and Hearne stumbling as she coughed up smoke.

Kaldur grabbed onto Wally and shoved him into the Zeta Tube, barely watching as he disappeared before he turned to Hearne.

"I can fight them," she stated. "You know I can."

"I do not." He raised a hand, showing her it carefully, before he placed it on her shoulder. "I am not sure of what you can do, and I will not risk your life over uncertainty." 

"Do _not--_ "

The computer scanned her, and Hearne grabbed Kaldur's arm, attempting to ground herself, but it was no use, because she was thrown backward into the pull of the Zeta Tube.

Hearne landed on her back, her body flaring with pain as she skidded across the floor, her head smacking into the cement floor roughly. She shook off Wally's hands as she got to her feet, not bothering to rub at her head as someone else came through. A soldier, limping tiredly on his injured leg.

Next, Connor landed, nearly toppling over with the effort. Anxiously, M'gann helped him despite him not needing it, and Wally helped the soldier to a bench.

Martian Manhunter stumbled through, palming at his head painfully, and Hearne waited for a moment. Then two. Then three. She blinked, and with one glance at Martian Manhunter, she felt something within her split.

He walked forward, to comfort her, but she shrugged him off coldly. She didn't need comfort. This was stupid. She was used to death, death flowed through her veins. This inevitably always happened, so why did she feel something? She wasn't supposed to feel anything, not for them, not for _anyone_.

Standing there, with the Team's sobs in her ears, she made a vow: to never get attached, not like she just had, because she would always end up nothing but weak and vulnerable.

_* * *_

**_"OUR NEXT MISSION_** is clear," Robin said, "if we believe the aliens are teleporting their victims--"

"We do," Wally added defensively.

"Then the only _reasonable_ detention facility is here." He typed away on his hologlove, and a screen with an alien ship unlike anything Hearne had seen popped up in front of them. "Their mothership . . . atop what used to be Smallville." He looked back to Martian Manhunter. "Ring any bells?"

"No, I'm sorry." As soon as he said that, Athena motioned him to sit back down as she handed him back the ice pack. She had arrived nearly an hour before them, waiting as she watched national news. She was wearing the suit--the one Bruce had made her nearly two years ago--the one with her family's crest on it. 

"Superboy," Robin said, "you'll create a distraction."

"No!" M'gann gasped. "He's offering you as a sacrifice, Aqualad would never do that."

"You're right," he agreed. "Aqualad would sacrifice himself. A mistake that just cost us our leader."

"I'll do it," Hearne interrupted, causing their eyes to widen slightly. "He's most likely to be perceived as a threat, but I can do much more damage than he could in the short span of time we have." Her hardened gaze settled on the four remaining members of the Team. "And I don't die. I'm the best option."

"Worst case, you'll be teleported inside," Wally said with a nod. "Then we'd set you free along with Artemis. And, uh, Aqualad and everyone. It solves everything, really."

Everything within Hearne itched to yell that no, that wasn't how it worked, but she bit her tongue and held it back. Now wasn't the time. They needed Wally's speed at the moment, and telling him the truth would take away his focus.

"Alright," Robin sighed, "then it's settled. Olympia will be the distraction, and we'll go in and--free everyone, and take down the mothership."

Athena stood to her feet, her eyes comically wide if it wasn't for the situation. "No, you're not going to be the distraction, I won't allow it."

Hearne bit her tongue so hard pain bolted through her head. "I don't need your permission, Athena. You're not my mother, and you're not my punisher. I don't need you to tell me I can do this."

Her face fell. "Don't do this, you know what you're doing. Don't be that."

"This is what you wanted me to be, isn't it? A hero. This is what a hero would do--what _Bruce_ would do."

Hurt flashed across Athena's face at the mention of him. "You know what? If you want to be that person you were before, fine. But I'm not going to pick up the damn pieces this time, I'm tired of teaching you how to be human."

Hearne kept her face still, unbothered, but she felt something deep within her crack. Like the final blow had been delivered. Because it was true, Athena had taught her how to be human, how to be _normal_. Now she wasn't, now she was moving right back to where she used to be.

Athena stormed away, Martian Manhunter following slowly, calling out her name, and Wally whistled. "So, uh, family issues?"

She glared at him. "We're not family--we're not blood."

"Family isn't just--"

"Do your video thing without me," Hearne said with a wave of her hand as she started to walk away, "people would be more inspired by you, they don't even know who I am."

She made her way to the room she stayed in at the Cave, where all her weapons were. With the feeling of the sky on her shoulders, like Atlas did those thousands of years ago, she grabbed the necklace.

"Amadeus," she whispered, clutching it tight to her chest, "show me strength."

_* * *_

_**ROBIN AND M'GANN**_ stood on a rock, overlooking the mothership, while the rest of the Team--as well as Athena and Martian Manhunter--stood below. Athena had insisted on coming, despite Hearne saying that she should go with Roy and Zatanna to Star City. "This is about the world," she'd said, "at the very least, I can provide a shield."

"First team," Robin whispered, "deploy."

M'gann and her uncle flew into the air, linked arms, and disappeared into the sky, invisible to the naked eye. 

_Ready,_ came M'gann's voice, _in position._

Hearne stepped forward, to stand beside Robin on the rock. She could see the guns mounted on the mothership clearly, and she would go for those first. Then, if aliens were even aboard the ship, they might deploy, and she would handle those, too. Nothing too serious, because any large usage of her powers might cause the mothership to explode.

Except that was what they wanted. She felt a small pang of horror go through her. Would she really let them be killed, by her own hands? Would she really let more blood fall upon her? She wasn't convinced she wouldn't, and it made her harden even more.

Robin gave her a small, calculated nod.

Hearne took off into the air, the darkness carrying her, and she landed loudly--purposely--onto the ship. She outstretched one arm, focused, and a gun dismounted and fell to the ground below. Quickly, she fired one streak of darkness after the other, the guns rotting out of their mounts as they fell below.

An army of alien ships came out from the crevices of the ship.

 _Now,_ she said, _before they see you._

She took to the air, her body engulfed in the dark, eyes an abyss as the ships flew towards her. A bubble of darkness stretched outward, towards the sky, and abruptly burst, scattering the ships to the ground as her heart pounded in her chest. Amadeus' power was helping, but she could feel her nerves starting to overheat.

As if the fates had cursed her, a second army descended upon her. The first beam hit the wall of darkness in front of her, and she felt pain shoot through her body as it hit. Her entire body was on fire, burning hotter than the sun itself, and she could feel her veins beginning to burst.

_Athena, I'm sorry._

The sky exploded into white-hot darkness, the ships disintegrating in the air as the mothership shook greatly.

Once the air stopped sizzling, the only thing left on the roof of the mothership was a golden necklace with a new line carved in its center.

_* * *_

**_HEARNE'S EYES SHOT_** open, and her mind couldn't move as fast as her body did. She rolled off of the table she was laying on, darkness encircling her as she walked backwards. Her back hit a wall and she flinched, unable to process anything that was happening. Where was she? What happened? For a brief moment, she wondered _who_ was she?

She was Hearne Fowler, heir to the Fowler empire, daughter of Azucena and Leonidas Fowler. That's who she was.

Her eyes moved rapidly around the room she was in, memorizing everything, unable to recognize anything. She could feel her chest moving rapidly, her breaths coming in short, panicked spurts.

Someone walked towards her--grey suit, black cape, black cowl--and she shot a stream of darkness towards them, and they fell to the ground. Their body went rigid, muscles coiled tightly together as they spasmed.

"Stop it!" someone screamed. "Hearne, it's me! That's Bruce!" The person still laid on her floor, now panting for breath as they clutched their chest helplessly. "It's me, Athena! Remember? Athena Demaine? Our families, they've been intertwined since Amadeus, my ancestor was the one who burned him, remember?" Her eyes fixed on the woman, narrowed, angry. "Shit, that wasn't the right thing to say! You came to me, after your family was killed by--your family was killed and you came to me, because I was the last one left, and I was the only person who would understand your kind. Remember? Remember how I helped you? And I taught you how this world worked, and how to be kind, and forgiving? _Remember?_ "

As if something inside her mind had switched, the darkness faded, and Hearne's eyes widened. "Athena, I'm so--"

She flinched, nearly kicking their knees in, before her mind calmed now and she gripped Athena's shirt so tight she was sure she would rip it. Her head was buried in her shoulder, and foolishly, she didn't want to ever leave.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm sorry for being a burden, I wish I didn't say those things."

"Hey, hey, hey, whatever you said wasn't real, okay? That wasn't real, you don't have to worry about it. And whatever I said? It wasn't real either, I wasn't even there, that was all you."

Hearne stiffened in her arms. "What?"

"This simulation, it went wrong, I didn't even know you were doing it, not until he called--"

She pulled away, unsure of anything. "What are you talking about? What simulation?"

"The simulation," Bruce gasped, "you agreed to do it, it was a training exercise. But it went wrong, and once you died, you believed you were dead and went into a coma. Until the others wake up, I'm not sure what exactly happened."

Everything came back together as Artemis shot up with a gasp.

Athena's lips pressed into a thin line as she helped him up from the ground. "Once this is settled, you and me are going to have a long talk, mister. I can't believe you did this without telling me! You know these things are dangerous for her, and even if it's 'training,' it always does more harm than good! Gods, you're such a stubborn bastard, they really should call you Bastardman, shouldn't they?"

"Athena--"

"No," she said rigidly, "you know what you did, _Batman_. And once you get this squared away, we're going to have a much-needed discussion. That involves _both_ of our kids, since you can't seem to get your head on your shoulders." 

"This isn't nec--"

"It is necessary! Since your little League friends are too scared to say it, someone has to, and I'm not scared of either sides of you." She dropped him into a chair roughly. "Dick."

Athena hurried back to Hearne before she intertwined their fingers together. "Sorry about that. And I swear, if I'd known he was planning this, I would've stopped it. That bastard didn't tell me because he knew I would've made him stop. Little bi--"

"It's fine," Hearne assured, "I allowed it. You know if I wanted to, he wouldn't be able to do anything. Look what I did to him, his weapons are no match for that."

"Would you have agreed if you knew what would happen?"

Hearne didn't answer, she simply watched as the others woke with startled gasps.

"We can go home, now," Athena whispered, "you don't have to stay here any longer."

"You're all alive!" M'gann exclaimed, and Hearne's head pulsed at her loud voice.

"What happened in there?" Batman asked.

"The exercise," Martian Mahunter said, "it all went wrong."

"Exercise?" Robin echoed.

"Try to remember," Batman said, and Athena gripped Hearne's hand tightly. "What you experienced was a _training_ exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the six of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train for failure exercise. No matter what the Team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still, you were aware _nothing_ was real including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

"That is why you hardly grieved," Martian Manhunter added, "even when Wolf was disintegrated before your eyes. But all that changed when Artemis died. Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise and her subconscious took control. Making all of _you_ forget, too."

"I-I'm . . . I'm so sorry," M'gann whispered.

"This isn't her fault!" Connor protested. "Why didn't you stop the exercise?"

"We tried," Manhunter said. "But M'gann had a death grip on the scenario. Even Artemis, who should have awakened upon her death was so convinced she had passed she slipped into a coma. I realized I would have to rest control from Miss Martian's subconscious from within." Athena squeezed her hand. "But upon entering the reality I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was too much _noise_ to think clearly . . . to remember why I was there. The deaths of Aqualad and Olympia helped. But only when the mothership exploded and Robin, Kid Flash, and Superboy were silenced, did my mind clear enough to remember my true purpose. To shock M'gann out of the exercise before your comas became permanent. My apologies. I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous . . ."--he looked to Hearne--"and damaging."

The two League members walked away with Red Tornado while Captain Marvel held M'gann as she cried. The Team comforted her, and Hearne felt alienated as she stood with Athena. The worst part was that she wasn't sure she _wanted_ to feel like she was one of them.

"Come on, let's go home." Athena cast a dirty look to Batman, who looked away, his facade dropping to reveal how guilty he was. "I'll talk to him later. Right now, we need to spend some time together. Maybe Titanic? And cookies?"

Hearne sighed. "Titanic is awful. And slightly inaccurate."

"Exactly. And I know you'll correct it the entire time, but it's still your favorite movie. Come on, I'll even let you make those spicy cookies you like."

Despite everything that just happened--that she'd died for the second time in nearly a month, or that everyone had died, or that she felt hollow inside--she left. Because the look Kaldur was giving her, like he wanted to say something but didn't know how, made her feel painfully human. And if she was anything, it wasn't human.


	13. Blood Is Thicker Than Water

**ATHENA AND BRUCE HAD BROKEN UP.** It was startling, even for Hearne, because the two had been dating for seven years. Off and on, at times, yet still, it was a long period of time. Despite Athena never once meeting Dick, they were in a serious relationship. They went on dates at least once a week if Bruce had the time, and Hearne would sometimes walk into the kitchen and Athena would be washing the dishes with the phone perched on her shoulder, or she would be outside, taking care of the horses with it sitting on the fence on speaker.

The worst part was that they _fit_ together. The two of them made sense as a couple. They had known each other since high school, both of their families one of the wealthiest in Gotham City, and once he'd come back from abroad, they had become friends again, and after Athena accidentally found out that he was Batman, they began to date. Because while Bruce could be cold and paranoid, even obsessive at times, Athena was the opposite. She was relaxed, always trying to think rationally without jumping to conclusions, yet she consistently stood her ground. She was unmovable, just as Bruce was, and that was what he needed. Someone who wouldn't be pushed around, who would call him on his destructive habits, yet would let him be when he needed it.

Now, those seven years were cracked. Four whole days, which vastly set them aside from things like the several months after he made Dick Robin, or the weeks after Hearne appeared--solely because this meant more. It wasn't a fight like the others, where there was bubbling anger yet one clear point of the argument. This was many points that had finally boiled over when he hadn't told her about the simulation. "Too many secrets," she had said, "he can have his secrets, I sure as hell have a lot, but he knows there's a line _neither_ of us cross."

That line had always been the safety of Dick and Hearne, something that had caused many arguments. Finally, Bruce had done what he always managed to do--cross that line, and fail to fully understand why it was so wrong. It made Hearne feel bad, because this was her fault. She should have said no, and it wouldn't have happened, and neither would have screamed for nearly two hours, and they wouldn't have broken up. But, in the corner or her mind, she knew the truth. That no matter what, this argument would have came, and the "Failsafe" would have been it, regardless of whether or not Hearne was in it.

When Bruce had called, Athena had shouted at him, saying some choice words Hearne hadn't heard her say in the entire time she'd known her. Athena had said that, no, Olympia _wouldn't_ be coming to a "therapy appointment" with Dinah, not over her dead body. Despite that, and Athena telling Hearne that she had no obligation to go, Hearne still was. She didn't exactly know _why_. It wasn't like she would talk to Black Canary, about Failsafe or anything else, but something in her felt like she had to.

Things were confusing now. Part of her wanted to shut everything and everyone out, to never feel that weak and vulnerable again, to snuff any emotions out, but the other part wanted nothing of that. Part of her wanted to be _free_. To shed herself of the layers her family had built upon her, the things that made her _inhuman_. But if she didn't have those parts of her, who would she be? Not Hearne Fowler, even she knew that. No Fowler was that weak.

Still, she was here, and sitting in the surprisingly comfortable leather arm chair, she felt analyzed. Even if her face was blank--in a comfortable way, not one that Hearne or Batman typically held--Hearne could tell that Black Canary hadn't found much. Hearne wasn't easy to analyze, not like the others were. She wasn't raised human, or taught like Superboy was--she wasn't born with a need to feel human, she developed it once she met Athena and realized she could feel something _more_.

"So, you were the third death in the simulation," Black Canary said, "aside from the programmed ones of the League and civilians. How did that make you feel?"

"Nothing," Hearne answered. "I've died before, out of a simulation. Albeit my body wouldn't allow myself to die, I still did. For a moment."

"What about that?" Black Canary asked, leaning forward slightly. "You haven't talked about that. But after you wore the Helmet of Fate, you seemed to . . . loosen up. Why is that?"

"Because I was told to," she answered. "By Kent Nelson. While I was in the Helmet of Fate, he told me to trust in the Team."

Not the full truth, but enough to keep her from asking questions specifically about _why_.

"You didn't trust the Team before? You trusted them to have your back, and enough to even heal them."

"Maybe I did." Hearne sighed. "Isn't that what you decide? Every time I answer, you come up with another one."

"I only try to solve your problems," Black Canary said, raising her hands slightly in surrender. "We don't have to talk about anything you don't want to. We don't even have to talk, if that's what you want. Martian Manhunter just wants each of you to spend one hour here, that's all."

Hearne nodded stiffly. "Alright then. We can sit here, that way I can leave."

"To home?" Hearne's eyes narrowed on her. "I've seen that sometimes, depending on your mood, you switch your vocabulary up. Sometimes you say 'leave,' and sometimes you say 'go home.'"

"'Home' is none of your business, Canary."

She laughed, a light, humorous laugh. "Olympia, I'm not interrogating you, I promise. Trust me, I wouldn't be the one to do that, the other members of the League are more qualified than me. We're just talking, all I want to do is help you."

"Then start by no longer talking to me like I'm a spooked tiger," Hearne stated. "Talking is no longer 'talking' when you speak like you're trying to stop them."

"I'm not trying to stop you, and I don't think of you like a 'spooked tiger.' But you're acting like one right now." Hearne felt her shoulders stiffen. "See, there. You always tense, or bite your tongue. You're overly defensive. It's the only way you know how to cope with tough situations."

Hearne glared at the woman. "I'm _reasonably_ defensive. That is how you survive."

"Let's talk about that." Oh _shit._ "I can tell you and Athena haven't always been together, someone told me that you were very adamant that she wasn't family, or blood, and that seemed to make it final."

Her eyebrows pinched together. "Who?"

"I doubt they would like you knowing, because then you wouldn't speak to them. They were worried, you seemed angry, like the mention would make you . . . go dark? That's what Wally calls it."

 _Go dark._ It seems fitting Wally would name it that.

"We're not blood-related, no. And we weren't always together."

Why was she telling her this? It could go so, so wrong, for any of them. Yet, she didn't find herself caring. Despite her defensiveness, it felt nice to talk, even if it was a small amount. She'd never told anyone these things--no one had ever _asked._

"A family friend? Someone you found along the way?"

"Something of the sort."

Black Canary seemed satisfied with that answer. "Why the distinction of blood and family? It seems important to you. Does 'blood is thicker than water' mean anything?"

Hearne felt her breath catch in her throat. She felt her eyes widen involuntarily, and her lungs burn, but she couldn't seem to _breathe._ It was as if her body couldn't seem to work. Blood is thicker than water, they'd chant. Blood is thicker than water, they'd scream. Blood is thicker than water, she'd cry. Blood is thicker than water, carved into the walls, scratched into the cells with bloody finger nails. BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER, BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER.

" _Olympian!_ "

Rapid flashes of memories stopped as she gasped, air finally making it into her lungs.

"That was a flashback, wasn't it?"

"I suppose you could call it that," Hearne rasped.

"That's a symptom of PTSD, do you know what that is?"

" _Of course I know what that is._ " Her lips pursed. "I mean, of course I've heard of it. Athena has it, she told me about it, before, a few years ago, and sometimes she has PTSD episodes. I read books about it, years ago."

"And did you ever think that you might have it?"

She paused. "It made sense, but no, I never believed I could have PTSD. It took me a long time to realize things like that truly existed."

"The people that caused the PTSD," Black Canary said, "your family, did they not believe in mental illnesses?"

Hearne felt a lump form in her throat. "I did not mention any family."

"I assumed. You hate the topic of family, whenever someone mentions it, or when M'gann mentions her uncle. The phrase I said before makes you have flashbacks"--BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER, BLOOD IS--"and you seem to think that if you don't share DNA, you aren't a family. Is that correct?"

She bit her tongue. "Yes, it is."

"Your family, did they make you do that?" she asked. "Biting your tongue, tensing up sometimes, unneeded, when someone raises their voice, like you expect to be hit. Or defensive. Was that them?"

"Disobedience is not tolerated," Hearne recited. "It wasn't allowed. So you had to hold your tongue, and make sure no one could tell you were, or they'd strike you across the face. But the defensiveness . . . it came after, when I learned how harsh the world was. I had to adapt with what they taught me."

"What they taught you was wrong," she said, sure of her words. "No one should treat a child like that."

"I was disobedient," Hearne quickly argued, "that needs to be--"

" _Nothing_ justifies hitting someone so young. It isn't right, and they should have known that. I need you to know that what they did was wrong."

"I understand." Hearne didn't, but she agreed anyway.

"Now, I think we've made great progress today." Black Canary smiled genuinely. "But I have on more question." Hearne looked at her expectantly. "Why don't you give the Team a chance? Stop referring to them as 'the Team,' and instead _my_ team. You're a member of the Team, they all grieved you."

"That was foolish of them, then."

"Do you realize that you're their friend?" Hearne blinked in surprise. "They think of you like a friend. When you died, M'gann cried, and Kaldur blamed himself, even though he was dead, that he allowed you to die. Artemis was upset that you died, and when she found out, she told me that she couldn't imagine you dying--against something you could control--and she felt like she should have been there for you."

"They--"

"They're your _friends_. Whether you think it or not, they would be there for you through anything."

Hearne stared at her boots.

"Well, that concludes our session. I'm glad we got to talk, Olympia. Next week?"

She stopped herself from biting her tongue, which surprised her. "Fine, but no promises."

"Alright, see you then."


	14. High School Halloween

**HEARNE HAD NEVER CELEBRATED HALLOWEEN.** It was never a holiday, to her, and when she came to America and saw how people celebrated it, she was appalled. Costumes? And candy, for free? Children were allowed to walk free, at night, and take candy from strangers? It didn't make any sense to her, and every time it rolled around, she ignored it. The only "celebration" she did was she and Athena would go to the store, buy several bags of candy, and eat it that night.

Now Hearne was dressed in a costume--a ghost, which seemed rather laughable to her--and eating several Snickers that she held in her hand. While she had a strict diet most of the time, the _one_ exception was Halloween. She'd never had candy before, and the first time she'd eaten one, she could still remember the way her eyes widened and she'd looked at Athena like she had given her pure gold.

"Cool ghost costume," Wally said with a nod. He was dressed as a werewolf, and reluctantly, Hearne had helped with the glue earlier that day. "It seems fitting since you--uh, you know--"

"Don't die, yes, I get it."

His cheeks turned red as he turned to M'gann, babbling on about how Connor and Hearne would feel awkward "third-wheeling" on their date. Hearne wondered how oblivious he could be. M'gann and Connor had been dating for weeks, and he clearly liked Artemis, if the simulation didn't confirm it enough. Why all the turmoil over it? Artemis clearly liked him, too.

Hearne had never liked anyone, not in that way. She had a suitor, when she was young, just as everyone else did. At the age of four, you were paired with someone relatively the same age as you, and you were "destined" until your death. Hers had died, and darkly enough, she wasn't sure she would want that life anymore. Everyone seemed to be unhappy, and the relationships weren't like they were here. Love wasn't involved, and if there was a lack of it? You didn't know any better.

"Has anyone seen Kaldur?" she asked. "He wanted to talk to me last time I was here . . . I cannot remember why."

Everyone froze, exchanged a look, as if they knew something Hearne didn't.

"What is it? Is it important?"

"You should totally go talk to him," Wally quickly said. "Like, right now--like, before anything else can happen."

Her eyebrows pinched together. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing! Jeez, can't a guy get a little bit of trust around here?"

She sighed. "Fine, but that did not answer my question. Is he in the Cave at the moment?"

Typically, he was, but sometimes he would leave for Atlantis, or to simply get out of the Cave. Besides that, the Cave was large, and Hearne was not going to go searching for him solely because he wanted to "talk to her."

"Oh!" M'gann blushed. "He's at the hangar, I think. He went for a swim this morning."

Hearne nodded in thanks and left to find him. He seemed to be swimming a lot more often lately, and she understood why. He had been raised in Atlantis, for most of his life, he didn't come to the surface world. It was comforting to be amongst the waves again. She had never gone swimming with him before, but he had offered many times. One time, she had went out, and nearly got ran over by a large ship. She cringed at the thought, the memory of her lungs seeming to burst as she dived down as far as she could to avoid getting caught on it.

Just as M'gann said, she found Kaldur in the hangar. He was merely floating in the water, eyes shut and face blank. Hearne knew that feeling. To do nothing more than float at the surface of the water, the sound of underwater in your ears, as your mind did nothing but spin and spin and spin. He wasn't wearing a shirt, which was a first, since he typically wore his suit to swim. Now, it was nothing but navy blue swim shorts (vaguely, she recalled how they had a beach day the day she arrived, and wondered if that was what Kaldur wore).

She sat down on the steps, her boots in the water as the waves lapped gently against the buckle. Her feet were cold, but the boots were waterproof. For a moment, Hearne thought about walking into the water, but she quickly pushed it away once she realized that she was wearing clothes, as well as minimal makeup to make her face appear hollow, like ghosts' always were. She would look disastrous if she did.

It took nearly a minute for Kaldur to realize she was there, and she didn't call out in fear of disturbing him. He looked at peace, and she knew it wouldn't take long for him to realize she was there. He was skilled, he would always find out.

He swam over, and Hearne could just barely make out the definition of him as he did, before he rose above the water to sit on the steps a few feet from her.

"Swim shorts," she remarked, "didn't think Atlanteans wore those."

"They do not," Kaldur responded, humor laced in his tone. "I thought I would wear them . . . they are not as comfortable as they appear."

She smiled slightly. "No, they are not." The only sound was the water lapping against the steps and the hum of the generator far behind them. "You wanted to speak with me, last time I was here."

"Oh, that." Hearne horrifyingly felt her cheeks fill with heat as she realized that Kaldur would be considered attractive in most points. "Do not worry, it is no longer important."

"It was important enough that you mentioned it," she said, looking over to him as she did her best to cool her face. "Was it about . . . it?"

Kaldur was silent for a moment. "Nevermind it, you have a party to attend." A smile graced his lips. "You make an exception ghost, Olympia."

 _Again,_ her cheeks were warm. "Ah--thank you, Kaldur. You make an exceptional . . . swimmer."

His eyebrow quirked slightly as she stood, and she simply shrugged. "You aren't in costume, my options were limited to swimmer and swim short enthusiast, and I'm not sure anyone wants to be called that."

Kaldur laughed. "No, I do not think anyone does."

_* * *_

_**"WHERE IS ARTEMIS?"** _

Artemis had been the one to ask her, since she, Zatanna, Wally, Connor and M'gann were going to the Halloween dance. Initially, she had said no, which disappointed Artemis, but once Athena had found out that Hearne had the opportunity to go to a "real life teenage party," she'd practically pushed her out the door. So that left her here, dressed in a black, calf-length flowing dress, with dark makeup outlining her cheekbones and under her eyes. It wasn't exactly like a ghost, she didn't have the white aura around her, but it was close enough.

"Oh, her and Zatanna left," M'gann answered. "They said they were going on patrol, and to tell you that you were welcome to come."

Hearne pursed her lips. "No, it's fine. When are we leaving?"

She wished Artemis would have told her that they were leaving, because then she would have left, too. Most likely not _with_ them, but left nonetheless. Out of the three that were going to the party, she was closest with Connor, but just barely. She knew Artemis, and she would even admit she liked her (a tiny part of her thought of the word _friend_ ), and spending the night with her seemed more enjoyable than with Connor, Wally, and M'gann. Not to mention the many teenagers that were going to be at the school--a type of people Hearne had never been comfortable with.

"Oh, right now!" M'gann smiled, and shape-shifted into her costume. Her skin was white, black lipstick, with a torn white dress and veil. She raised her hands into the air, like the _White Zombie_ film. "Rah!"

"Whoa," Wally said, and Hearne sighed at the tone he used. "Babe, eat my brains anytime."

Hearne scoffed. "You are _disgusting_." She gave a tight-lipped smile to M'gann. "You look wonderful, M'gann, like a zombie out of vintage films."

M'gann smiled brightly and hovered a few feet in the air. "Let's go! I told Karen we'd get there before Marvin did."

Connor cringed. "Yeah, sounds like a plan."

Hearne made a mental note to avoid whoever this 'Marvin' was, especially if they managed to annoy Connor that badly. 

_* * *_

**_AS THEY WALKED_** into the gymnasium, Hearne felt painfully out of her element. She could fit in anywhere, adapt to anything, but it didn't mean she was _comfortable_. She didn't like music so loud it pulsed in your rib cage, not unless it was from her earbuds, and she certainly didn't like teenagers. They were immature, vulnerable, and uncomfortable.

"Too bad the rest of the team couldn't make it," M'gann wondered aloud.

"You've gotta be kidding."

Connor had noticed that the entire gymnasium was full of superhero costumes, and despite the bandages covering his face, Hearne could tell how much it annoyed him. A small smile crept onto her lips, but it quickly went away once they started to make their way towards Connor and M'gann's friends.

"You look amazing!" a blonde girl exclaimed, who was dressed as Black Canary.

"Who did your makeup, girl?" another asked. She had dark skin, her hair pulled into two spots on the top of her head. The most interesting thing--the thing that made Hearne pay more attention to her--was the costume she was wearing. It was a bee, yet with the yellow goggle-like thing she wore, it was clear it was a superhero she'd created. Original, Hearne liked it.

Someone walked over--tall, taller than Connor, dressed as Superman in his own way--and rested his hand on Connor's shoulder for a brief moment. "Burn victim?"

"Mummy," Connor answered. "You?"

He adjusted the small, circular sunglasses to cover his eyes. "Superman . . . done right."

"Yeah, good luck with that."

Hearne supposed he was alright. He had an easy aura to him, very relaxed, and she guessed he would be someone easy to talk to with his friends and people close to him.

"Wally, Olympia," M'gann said, "this is Wendy, Karen, Mal, and . . ." M'gann gestured to a boy--scrawny, short, dressed as Batman as he typed away on his phone--but he didn't turn to face them. 

"Ignore Marvin," Wendy said, arms crossed, and Hearne vaguely thought it was a good impression of Black Canary. "He thinks we're being invaded by Martians."

"I never said that," Marvin snapped defensively. "It's just--reports are all over the interwebs and I'm not the only one getting them!"

Everyone in the gymnasium's phone beeped, but Hearne's didn't. Hers didn't get alerts or anything of the sort, she'd made sure it was untrackable, therefore no one could send messages such as alerts.

"I mean, Martians aren't invading." Hearne wanted to roll her eyes, Marvin was a laughable liar at best. "It's just a prank gone viral, right?"

"Of course it's a prank," someone from behind them chimed in--an adult, most likely a chaperone of the principal. "Ever hear of Martian Manhunter? Martian's aren't hostile."

"Of course not," M'gann agreed, but Hearne could tell she didn't believe it.

"Well, enough of that aside," Karen said with a smile as she fixed her gaze on Hearne. "M'gann's talked about you a lot. You're just like I thought you were."

Hearne's eyebrows pinched together.

"All good things, all good things!" Karen laughed, her laugh was light--genuine. "You're just a lot . . . shorter than I expected."

Karen was only 5'4 or 5'5, which made Hearne wonder how she could say that when she was only a few inches taller.

"Runs in the family." It didn't, but it was an easy way to deter the conversation. 

"So!" Wendy clapped her hands together, and the sound made Hearne tense. "Punch, anyone?"

Wally and the three other girls left to get punch, babbling on about recent drama, which left her with Connor and Mal. Marvin had disappeared, and she knew he was up to no good.

"What are you?" Mal asked. "Corpse Bride?"

She blinked. "What?"

"It's a movie," he said with a quirked eyebrow. "Y'know, Tim Burton? The whole"--he gestured to his cheeks--"thing."

"Oh," she said, a bit dumbly, "I'm a ghost."

He hummed to himself. "That makes sense, I see it now." He crossed his arms, which made him appear even larger than before. "So, how do you two know each other?"

Before Connor could answer, Hearne did. "Childhood friends." She shrugged. "Our parents were friends, once upon a time."

"Friends from when we were kids were tight," Mal said with a nod. "I swear, you could've done anything, and me and my buddy Mitch would've been just as close."

Hearne smiled, one without teeth. "That sounds sweet."

"Yeah, it--"

Suddenly, the lights cut out--or rather the power, since everything was gone--and people groaned in disappointment. Hearne could see, not entirely, but enough, and she scanned the room anxiously.

"Everybody calm down!" the adult from earlier yelled. "Probably just a blown fuse."

The emergency lights came on, flashing red across the room. Instinctively, all of the teenagers were looking at their phones, and Hearne steeled her nerves to prevent herself from instinctively pulling out the knife from her boot. If she was someone different, she would have laughed at their lack of instincts.

"Says here Martians have taken New Haven and Providence," Mal said, his eyes glued to his phone.

"Spotted in Happy Harbor too," Wendy added.

"Guys, guys," the adult--definitely a teacher--said as he approached them, "it's a Halloween cliche."

"It is?" Hearne asked, a bit dumbfounded. Her knowledge of Halloween--entirely based on books, movies, and Athena's stories--didn't have a bit of that cliche.

"Attention," a voice announced over the loudspeaker, "homeland security advises everyone to stay inside the gymnasium. This is not meant as confirmation of any alien invasion."

The gymnasium erupted into panicked yells, just as Hearne's face twisted into a sour expression. _Marvin_.

 _We should call the cave,_ M'gann said in a newly-created mind link.

 _This is Marvin,_ Hearne stated, her lip twitching in anger. _The small bastard thought this would be funny._

Wally held back a laugh at her insult--which Hearne hadn't meant to be funny--as Connor nodded. His eyes fixed on the bleachers, and as he blinked, Hearne realized what he was doing.

"For your own safety," the loud speakers announced, "stay inside."

Connor turned to them, a small smirk on his face. _Marvin's playing a Halloween prank. How about we show him one of our own?_

Hearne's lips curled into a vengeful smirk. _Definitely._

They discussed the plan telepathically as they made their way out the back door, the four of them splitting up, and Hearne's lips were pressed tightly together in disagreement. Why was she having to be the damsel in distress with Wally? It made her look like a fool.

The October air was cool, much cooler than Georgia's October air. It was frigid, not humid, and it made even Hearne shiver. 

_Now._

She and Wally exchanged a glance before they burst from around the corner, and Hearne painted a look of terror onto her face just as Connor walked up beside and unsuspecting Marvin.

"The Martians are coming, the Martians are coming!" she and Wally yelled, skidding to a panicked stop a few feet from Marvin.

"Look out!" Connor said, pointing into the dark of night. "They have disintegration rays."

In a blinding light, one that made Marvin frantically cover his eyes, Hearne disappeared as Wally ran in a tornado-like formation around M'gann's shape-shifted form. (The martian from Looney Toons, she distantly recalled.)

As she hid behind a bush, she heard Connor say he'd 'hold it off.' She peeked from behind it, using darkness to shroud herself--just enough to blend in--as Connor was raised into the air. He was slammed into the pavement, and she knew it did nothing more than give him a light ache as he was thrown into the wall of the school, before finally being thrown once again onto the pavement by Marvin's feet. Like a scared child, Marvin let out a high-pitched scream, and went running into the school.

Once he disappeared through the doors, the three of them walked forward to join Connor, and M'gann shifted down to her costume. With a small smile, M'gann flashed a flashlight in their face, the one she'd used with Wally to make a 'disintegration ray.'

With a small pang in her chest, Hearne realized where the idea had come from.

"C'mon," Connor said, "we do _not_ want to miss this."

They hurried in through the back door, Hearne fast on Wally's heels as she reminded him to not use his super-speed, that they would get their before Marvin ruined himself. The three of them came to a stop by the bleachers, hidden from Marvin's line of sight, as M'gann walked slowly towards him.

"Martians are invading!" he screamed, ripping off his cheap Batman mask. "Martians!"

"Marvin, chill," Wendy said. "We got the memo."

"No!" he yelled. "Before it was all a prank I pulled. Now it's definitely real, the Martians just killed three people!"

"Which people?" M'gann asked, feigning concern.

"Those people!" Marvin exclaimed, pointing a finger towards the three of them, who stood two feet behind M'gann. They all exchanged a confused look. "Wait . . . I . . . oh."

Wendy sighed in disappoint. "Really, Marvin?"

"Trick or treat?" he offered weakly.

Wally snickered to himself as Marvin hurried off to the bathrooms, no doubt to avoid the scrutiny of his peers. "Oh my god, that was _gold!_ "

"It was, wasn't it?" M'gann said with a smile.

Hearne wanted to argue with herself that, no, it wasn't "gold." But even she had to admit that she enjoyed it and maybe--just maybe--they weren't that bad.


	15. Shadows in the Dark

**HEARNE HAD DECIDED THAT KALDUR WAS A BASTARD.** He clearly was, since when they raced back to the Cave after a morning swim (which he had somehow roped her into), he sent a wave towards her, nearly water-boarding her in the process. She'd kicked his knee from behind and made it first, but still, Kaldur playing dirty? She didn't see _that_ coming.

She shivered slightly as she wrapped a towel around her head. She was dry, in fresh clothes, but still--it was November, and they had gone for a swim in _Rhode Island_. Freezing water temperatures wasn't something she couldn't handle, but she certainly didn't welcome it.

M'gann had arrived back with Connor, both of whom had gone to pick up a shipment for Batman, as well as groceries at the local shop. Hearne was helping them unload, taking several crates at a time alongside Kaldur, who could only carry two, versus her three. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from doing more than a small smile, because something about competing to see who could carry more crates was so . . . _unusual_. And strangely, Hearne didn't mind it, no matter how hard she tried to squash that feeling, it always came back.

Friends, that was what Black Canary had told her the morning before. That whether she wanted to admit it, the Team were her friends, and she was apart of it. At first, she'd denied it, and said that, no, they weren't _friends_ , that she wasn't "attached" to them. But then Black Canary brought up Failsafe, and how she'd practically shut down after Artemis and Kaldur's deaths, and against every instinct, Hearne became misty-eyed.

After a long talk--well over their agreed one-hour session--Hearne had agreed that she'd try to see them as such, and give having "friends" a chance. She wasn't keen on the idea, and it made her feel like someone had sucked air out of her lungs, but a small part of her liked it. Because she'd have _friends_. She wouldn't have to stomp that feeling she got whenever Kaldur looked over at her with that smile on his face, the one that made him seem like an entirely different person.

So, maybe she could have friends. And _maybe_ that would make her feelings make sense. Because this awful feeling of warmth of her cheeks--which Athena kept trying to convince her was perfectly normal--was not right. She'd rather get impaled for the second time than blush at another comment.

Artemis and Zatanna entered the room as Hearne helped Kaldur and Connor untie the restraints from a few of the crates.

"Do not tear them," Kaldur reprimanded, "it might damage what's inside."

She frowned, but nonetheless did what he said and took the hunting knife from her boot to cut the thick restraints. Connor blinked in surprise at the sudden appearance of the weapon from her shoe, but eventually shrugged as Kaldur and went back to work.

Hearne dropped into a defensive position, her knife poised between her fingertips as something crashed to the floor. Loud, like glass shattering.

" _Dad!_ "

Zatara, Batman, and Red Tornado were gone. Rationally, she knew it was impossible for them to disappear that quickly, and it was impossible for them to have Zeta'd anywhere from their location.

"Oh, _shit_." Hearne looked to Kaldur, whose eyes were wide. "This is witchcraft, or something of the sort--I can't imagine anything with this level of power."

"But where did they go?" Zatanna asked, starting to panic. "Why them? Why not everyone else--oh my god, what if they have the other Leaguers?"

"Check." Hearne stood up with a straightened posture, knife still in hand. "I doubt they are the only ones missing . . . to have something powerful enough to make them vanish, they wouldn't waste it on only these three."

"So what are you saying?" Robin questioned. "That it's impossible to take only three?"

"No," Hearne answered, a pit forming in her stomach. "I'm saying that if you wanted to take anyone, these three would not be your choice. Something this big requires a powerful sorcerer, and someone that powerful would know better."

She hoped they didn't understand the other meaning: if Hearne was in their shoes--which she could be, theoretically--she knew who she would pick first.

_* * *_

_**HEARNE DID NOT**_ want to be here. She had wanted to stay with Kaldur and Robin, or at least search for children with Wally and Connor, but no. She had to stay with Artemis in the Happy Harbor gymnasium, surrounded by children, mostly under the age of eight.

She didn't know how to treat children. She knew her only knowledge of parenting wouldn't be the right one to temporarily use with these children, leaving her blindsided. Even worse, she had a baby. She doubted he was even six months old.

"Artemis, you cannot let me do this, this thing is--"

"A baby," Artemis corrected. "See, you're holding him wrong. He's not a sack of potatoes." 

Hearne's face twisted into discomfort as Artemis adjusted the baby so it sat in her arms, laying on her back, her arms positioned around it. "See? Isn't this better?"

It shifted in its sleep and Hearne's eyes widened. "Take it, oh my gods, take it--"

Artemis shook her head with a laugh. "Uh-uh, we're gonna be here for hours taking care of these kids until Robin and Zatanna find something. You at least have to hold a baby if you can't sing any nursery rhymes."

"You didn't know them either!" Hearne protested.

"Yeah, but at least I knew a few lines--seriously, how have you never heard Twinkle Twinkle?"

Hearne bit her lip as she looked down at the baby. "Never had anyone to teach it." She sighed. "What are we supposed to do with these children? I mentioned cooking something, and a boy looked at me like I had a third head."

"You suggested a food he couldn't even pronounce," Artemis pointed out. "Besides, everything it pre-heated here, it's basically prison food but with more flavor. All we have to do is turn on the ovens and get out yogurt."

She nodded. "Alright. How much do children eat?"

Artemis quirked an eyebrow. "You're joking, right?"

Hearne frowned. "You are no help."

Wally and M'gann walked over to them, a new child on Wally's hip. He looked so . . . natural. The boy held out a small, yellow drink cup and Wally smiled. "Oh, for me?" He took it carefully, like it was priceless. "Thank you."

"Did you call home?" Artemis whispered.

"No answer."

"You could Zeta there."

"I've been collecting kids all day," Wally said, his voice surprisingly grim. "I don't need to see another empty house."

Artemis looked over to Hearne, who shrugged slightly. "I didn't, I know Athena would call if she was here. She isn't."

The door to the gymnasium opened loudly to reveal Connor, a small child in each arm, and another on his shoulders, playing with his hair. "Got three more."

Hearne's breath hitched as the baby started to cry, his small face pinched into despair. "Artemis, Artemis--why is it doing that? Make it stop!"

"He's probably hungry," Wally said as he sat down his child with the rest. "Have you tried feeding him."

"No," Hearne answered, staring at it like it was a bomb that would explode--even then, she was more kind. "What do I do? What does it eat?"

"First of all, _it_ 's a boy," Wally said. "Second, baby formula. There's some by the bleachers, I grabbed some from the store." He raised an eyebrow as she stared, terrified, at the baby. "Do you need some help?"

Quickly, she nodded. She had no clue how to take care of a human child, or any for that matter. What did they eat? How did they sleep? Why did they cry? Why did they complain? Why did they have no manners?

Wally lead her over to the bleachers and fixed a glass of baby formula. He sighed nervously. "Here's to hoping he can actually drink this and we don't have to go to the hospital."

Her eyes widened. "Why do you feed it that if it hurts it?"

"It _might_ hurt him," Wally corrected. "Some babies can't have formula, or they can't have milk, but most can."

Hearne blinked, but didn't ask any questions. Humans were disgusting, she decided. If she somehow had children, it would never be with a human--they were complicated.

Hesitantly, she took the cup, and Wally helped her to gently feed it. "See? It's not that hard."

"The glass is . . . tiny." Her face softened slightly. "It makes it-- _him_ look proportionate." 

Wally laughed, one that made his shoulders shake. "Yeah, it does. And, for future reference, it's a bottle, not a glass."

"Bottle, noted."

Children were disgusting, loud, and rude--but, maybe, this one wasn't awful.

_* * *_

_**HEARNE WAS RELUCTANT**_ to leave the children, solely because there would only be three teenagers--Karen, Mal, and Wendy--covering over one hundred children. It was bound to go wrong, but Hearne had other obligations.

"So, we found where to go," Artemis stated. "That's . . . great, right?"

"Not exactly." Hearne twirled a knife anxiously between her fingers. "I know who did this, and trust me, we can barely fight him. Unless I--it would be hard to get anywhere near removing him."

"Who is it?" Wally asked. "And what do you mean 'remove?'"

"Remember the witch at the House of Fate?"

"Vampire boy, yeah, hard to forget."

"His name is Klarion, he's known as the Klarion the Witch Boy--chaos personified."

Zatanna's eyes widened. "Klarion? Oh no, no, no, no, no--my dad says he's the worst! It takes him hours to drive Klarion off-world!"

"Exactly, which is why _we_ need to work harder than your father. Klarion might be powerful, but he is nothing more than a spoilt brat. He lets his ego get in the way."

"Genius, but how do we--"

Suddenly, the sound of lightning filled the room, and with a flash, a scrawny, short child appeared ten feet from them. Shaggy black hair, blue eyes, red jacket that didn't quite fit him--familiar, somehow.

"It works!"

"What worked?" Hearne questioned as they walked forward.

"Woah--are you going to stab me?"

She sheathed her knife.

"Where did you come from?" Kaldur questioned. "Who are you?"

"Quick read my mind."

"No, don't--"

M'gann did, her eyes glowing green, and she made a mental note to tell her later that telepathy could be a two-way street once you allowed a road. 

She gasped softly. "He's Captain Marvel."

Hearne's eyes widened slightly. "I knew it!"

"Yeah," Wally said sarcastically, "and I'm Speedy Gonzalez. Look, just because he believes he's Cap--"

"Gee, Wally," they said, "do I really have to bring you nachos and pineapples to get on your good side?"

As the Team--as well as Zatanna--exchanged a shocked look, Hearne was mentally congratulating herself for knowing. "I knew you were a child."

"Hey, you are too!" he said with a frown. "I'm only--wait, how old are you? You look like you could be sixteen, but that's probably because you're scary."

Hearne blinked. "I'm--my age is not important."

The Team looked at her expectantly as Wally crossed his arms. "Now you have to tell us."

"Fourteen," she answered begrudgingly. "Pleased?" Wally gave a satisfied thumbs up. "Now, name."

"Uh--Captain Marvel, I thought we just covered this?"

"Real name."

"Ohhh." He slapped himself on the forehead. "Duh! It's Billy Batson--wait, are you going to do something with that? Because it's kinda private."

"Like, Batson?" Wally said with a snicker. "Cause, y'know, that's--"

Hearne cut her eyes at him, and he held his hands up in surrender.

"So . . . I can travel between the two worlds--oh, right, there's two worlds, one with grown-ups and one with kids--I'm basically your radio."

She took it back, children were awful.

_* * *_

**_ANXIOUSLY, HEARNE HELD_** the medallion in her hand, the movement seeming to calm her.

 _Cool necklace,_ Wally said, _wasn't that the one from Failsafe?_

She glared at him. _It is not relevant._

Artemis' arrows and Robin's batarangs flew forward from the opposite path, stopped by a red shield of raw magic.

"Is that the best you can do?"

A red bolt shot down from the sky, throwing the two onto their backs, and with that, she and Wally ran forward, Kaldur and Connor on their own paths following their lead. As they neared, a dome of red shot up, protecting Klarion, and Hearne narrowly skidded to a stop. Klarion smiled at that, pleased to have even a slight competition.

Zatanna ran forward, hands outstretched as she recited an incantation. It did nothing more than make a small area of the dome ripple.

"Huh," Klarion laughed. "Baby magic." With a simple, effortless incantation, and a flick of his wrist, Zatanna went flying backward into the air with a shriek.

As M'gann started to pelt the dome with boulders, Hearne raised her arms slowly, her eyes filled with an abyss of black.

 _Go for the cat,_ she hissed. _It tethers him to the land of the living but--_

They didn't let her finish, and instead burst into combat, and her lips pursed into a thin line as darkness rose from the trees. They should have listened, because familiars aren't as weak as people had come to believe.

Klarion turned back to her and he gasped, just barely. "Your kind can't stay dead, can they? Guess I'll have to take care of you myself."

Her lips twisted into a cruel, awful smile as her eyes glinted with power. "You're not the only one trained in mystic arts--except mine does not need a familiar to exist."

"Mythical arts are no match for magic, halfling!"

"Oh, but they are, you only met the first."

As if a thousand pounds weighed her down, she swung her arms forward, and the building darkness fell forward, encasing the dome in pitch-black darkness.

"No, no, no!" Klarion screeched. "You stupid branded, you're ruining all the fun!"

Her chest swelled with rage and she felt raw power pour out of her body as Klarion screamed. The dome fell and darkness seeped in, but mere moments later, a wave of red sent Hearne flying backward. Her body burned immensely, and panicked coursed through her before she saw her body wasn't on fire.

Her back ached painfully from being thrown into the tree, but she shakily forced herself to her feet. The necklace was hot against her chest, making the fabric sizzle under its heat.

Bolts of blue lightning shot out from a crystal in front of Klarion, sending the others sprawlin as Kaldur managed to absorb his.

Hearne raised her hands, a stream of darkness shooting forward, narrowly being stopped by a shield from Klarion.

"You halflings ruin everything! No wonder you all died!"

She let out a scream of rage as darkness was unleashed, but all of it was blown backward, back into where it came from.

Kaldur fell to the ground, his screams of pain echoing in her ears as the dome went up once again.

"Stop it!" she yelled, her mind racing.

Klarion only laughed maniacally. "You _like_ him? I didn't think halflings could even do that! You're all so . . . emotionless."

 _Don't shout, Billy,_ came M'gann's voice. _I've linked you telepathically to the others._

 _That's so cool!_ Hearne raised her arms once again, her body involuntarily floating into the air. _I mean, it's the gem, at the center of the pentagram. Destroy it, and we win._

_That's all I needed to know._

As Zatanna's voice filled her mind, she looked over to see her--with the Helmet of Fate in her hands. " _Zatanna!_ " she yelled. " _Don't, Nabu will never--_ "

It was too late. The helmet slipped over her head, the suit appeared instantly, and she rose into the air, mere feet away from Hearne.

"Step down, child."

"You do not have to do this, Nabu," she warned. "Use me as a host."

"She has the mystic arts in her blood."

"And I have yours!" Hearne's eyes widened. "But that's the point, you would never keep me longer than you had to . . . and you want a permanent host."

For a brief moment, Nabu's eyes softened, and he sent Hearne skidding to the ground beside M'gann.

"Klarion!" he yelled. "This ends now."

 _Billy,_ M'gann said urgently, _tell Zatara._

"Right, yeah. Shazam!"

He disappeared in a bolt of lightning, one that swept dirt and smoke into her eyes and left her coughing. Shakily she got to her feet once more, bruises already starting to form on her body--and not the good kind.

"Are you okay?" M'gann whispered.

"Fine." Her eyes flickered over to Kaldur, who still stood mere feet away from Klarion's dome, where Nabu and him were currently battling. With one spare look to M'gann, who nodded confidently, she raced forward to stand only a foot ahead of him.

"Are you alright?"

"Never been better." She took out her curved dagger and pressed it to her tight, praying to the gods it would work through the suit, there weren't many options. _Now._

Together, she, Kaldur, M'gann, and Nabu all went to work on the dome. Lightning crashed down on the top of the dome, and Kaldur looked, wide-eyed, at her as his hammers slammed into the side.

She didn't answer his clear question and went back to work, bolt after bolt crashing onto the top. If Klarion could withstand darkness, she'd have to find other ways to knock him down several pegs.

For a brief moment Nabu's power faded on Zatanna and she fell a few inches in the air before he regained control. Hearne was going to murder them after this--they knew she could withstand Nabu's power! Yet still, they brought the helmet, and allowed it into Zatanna's hands without telling Hearne it was even there.

They created a mess not even she could fix--because Nabu would never let Zatanna, not now.

Klarion laughed maniacally. "There, see! When the worlds divided, the helmet split, too. You're not all here, Nabu. And you're losing hold of that poor soon-to-be-dead girl!" His demonic face spread into a giddy grin. "She gave herself up for nothing."

"No, witch boy," Nabu said, his eyes fixed on Klarion as he raised a glowing hand into the air. "Fate decrees her sacrifice will not be in vain."

As Nabu's magic hit the dome, simultaneously, Hearne, M'gann, and Kaldur began to use all of their energy to break it as Klarion shrieked in dismay. The dome dissipated, and with one motion of his arms, a golden Ankh came down, the loop of it encircling Klarion's neck, while the branches held his wrists.

Hearne knew this would never keep Klarion, he was chaos personified--but it did long enough.

"Now, kid!"

At Kaldur's order, Wally sprinted forward and grabbed the crystal in one quick, blur of a swoop. "Doc, catch!"

Nabu caught the crystal in one hand, and the sound of his incantation filled the air. With a rumble in the sky, four other sorcerers appeared, one that she recognized as Wotan. The missing three League members appeared, all sporting slight looks of confusion.

She fixed her gaze on Klarion. "Once we meet again, I will ruin you, witch boy."

He smiled gleefully. "Looking forward to it, branded." He sighed. "Boy, they sure don't make evil immortal sorcerers like they used to. Oh well." With one snap of his bony fingers, the Ankh disappeared into thin air and he stood to his feet. "Fun while it lasted. Teekl!"

The familiar ran forward, shifting out of its previous form as a tiger-like creature, to a small, striped house cat. As the cat lept into his arms, he smiled. "See you later, armadillos. Unless I see you first!"

Even when his portal disappeared, the annoying laugh still rang in his ears.

Wally ran forward, skidding to a stop. "Aren't you two gonna stop him?"

Hearne quirked an eyebrow, but Nabu spoke first. "To what end? Klarion is chaos personified. He cannot be contained."

Wally huffed once he looked to Hearne and realized it was true. "Doesn't mean we should've let him get away so _easy._ "

A sharp pain rippled through Hearne's back, making her face twist into slight discomfort as she made her way over to the Team, where Robin and Artemis were now conscious. Possibly a pulled muscle, or worse. She would fix it later. It was the largest injury--still small, to her--the others were small enough to heal in a few days, bruise and gashes alike.

"Olympia, are you okay?"

She blinked. "Artemis, you were unconscious."

The blonde nodded. "Right, that's not great either."

Kaldur gave her a look--one that spoke volumes--and she simply shrugged, which didn't help at all. She knew he didn't believe that she was fine, he never did.

The League stood, tying the sorcerers into restraints, as Hearne hesitantly touched a gash on her forehead. She winced, and made a mental note not to touch it. It was deeper than she expected, but not deep enough to make blood spill down into her eye.

Hesitantly, Robin asked, "did we win?"

"At a cost," Kaldur answered, and Hearne looked up to Nabu, who still stood floating several feat above them. He stared back at her, unapologetic, but there was a statement there: you're one of mine, you're important--but not this important.

Zatara walked forward, anger twisted into his features. "Fate!" He took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself. "Great Nabu, release my daughter."

"No."

Hearne bit her tongue. Despite barely knowing Zatanna, it did not feel nice to hear that--she told herself it was because it would hurt the members of the Team.

"I witnessed the havoc wreaked in these hours, the world needs Doctor Fate, and the girl's natural abilities for the mystic arts makes her the perfect candidate." 

"You can't do that!" Artemis yelled.

"She has her own life!" Robin protested.

There was no use. Nabu would never settle, not unless he had another just-as-capable host.

"Kent would never allow you--"

"Kent Nelson did object, strenuously, so I released his spirit to the afterlife. He is gone."

Everyone exchanged a glance, finally understanding the magnitude of the situation--and Robin looked at Hearne, crestfallen, realizing why she hadn't tried to fight this.

"Take me instead." Hearne's eyes widened--why was Zatara doing this? "My skills are already at their peak. My body is physically stronger, better able to withstand the strain of your power."

"All true," Nabu agreed. "But if I remove the helmet what guarantee have I that you will don it?"

"My word."

Zatara spoke an incantation, and Hearne recognized it. She had once heard someone say it, an oath unbreakable, bound to the person severely. He was doing this because he loved her. So much so that he was willing to sell his soul to Nabu to let her live. Numbly, she wondered if this was how most parents loved their children.

Nabu drifted to the ground before he took off the helmet, and as the suit disappeared and Zatanna regained her body, Hearne had to bite her lip. When you were inside the helmet, you didn't know anything going on outside of it. Zatanna didn't know the deal her father just made.

Her father hugged her tightly, but pulled away quickly. "Zatanna . . . remember I love you." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and took the helmet from her hands. "Take care of my girl."

"You have my word," Batman promised.

Realization dawned across Zatanna and her hand flew to her face. "No, please! This was my fault!" Robin tried to stop her, but she ran forward. "Dad, don't! _Dad!_ "

The helmet slipped over his face, the golden suit appeared, and it was clear Zatara was no longer there. The only remnant of him was his body.

Zatanna went to say something, no doubt to plead with Nabu, but he spoke first. "Leave these to Fate." He lifted the unconscious restrained sorcerers into the air with one motion of his arm, and in a flash of blinding golden light, they were gone.

Hearne watched as Zatanna fell to her knees, staring blankly at the dirt as tears rolled down her cheeks. It reminded her of when her family died. That was the first time in her entire life she had truly cried--with a meaning, something more than pain. She'd seen the smoking ruins, the charred remains, and fell to her knees amongst the ash and let out a wail so loud she still felt the ghost of it in her soul.

She stared at her boots after that, and when Kaldur wrapped his arm around her shoulder, she leaned into him. Because knowing he was there for her made that awful ache go away, and if it made her look weak, she was okay with that.

_* * *_

**_"WE NEED TO_** talk."

Kaldur sat his book down and motioned for her to sit at the seat across from him. The Cave was quiet, most had already gone home, as well as Zatanna, who wanted to collect her things before she moved in the next day. Hearne had already spoken with Athena, and she would head home after she washed up and stitched herself--all of which were done. 

She swallowed thickly, painfully aware of the feeling of water dripping down her neck. She had to say it, because somehow, telling Batman didn't feel right. She had to tell him.

"Is it serious?"

Hearne took a deep breath. "Something is wrong. Something--something bad."

"How do you know?"

"Think about it," she said. "Everything seems to perfect, doesn't it? Constant attacks, mostly by the same people. Sportsmaster? He doesn't care about the League, he only cares about money, and it's the exact same with Chesire . . . the fact that they are in several of the same places we are is too coincidental." 

"They work for money, you said that. Money was always involved."

She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "Trust me, Kaldur, something is _wrong_. I can feel it--like it's in my bones. I know more about how these things work than anyone here, and I know these people are playing you. The Injustice League? It was too easy, you had to have felt it too."

"That was simply--"

"Kaldur, when they split apart the dimension today, did you notice how nothing happened?" she asked. "On either side. No plan to take over the world, no outright criminal activity--nothing. Klarion would never do something this large without reason. He likes chaos, and there was nothing chaotic about it--he never left Rhode Island."

"He split apart the dimensions," Kaldur said, trying to convince himself. "That seems like chaos."

"The sheer power it had to take--summoning the other _immortal_ sorcerers--is immense, even for Klarion. He wouldn't do that for nothing, and I know you know it."

Kaldur's breath hitched for a moment. "Then what? What does this mean?"

"They're working together," Hearne said, shutting her eyes tightly as they burned. "There's something none of you know--something dangerous."

"Olympia, is someone--"

"They're called The Light," she finally spit out, and she felt like she could barely breathe. "These people, they're the ones that do everything. The ones who can ruin anyone." She hiccuped. "Kaldur--they've finally brought Light upon the world."

"Are . . . are you sure? Do you have any proof?"

"Think about it, you know something has been going on, I know you have. These covert operations, they seem connected, slightly. Everything seems to bleed together in its own way. The Light are powerful, more powerful than any of the Justice League." She took a deep breath. "If you tell a soul, Kaldur, it will not end well for you."

"I swear it. However you know this, that is yours."

Hearne bit her lip sharply. "Sportsmaster has always dealt with the Shadows--or The League of Assassins, as they are formerly known. They pay well, for both him and his daughter Chesire. I knew once members of the Shadows started to appear something was wrong, I should have known sooner."

"The Light and the Shadows, are they working together?"

"The highest of the Shadows are part of The Light," Hearne answered. "You can work for them, but you can never become one unless someone allows it."

"Who allows it?"

"Someone dangerous." She bit her tongue. "But that isn't what I came to say. What Sportsmaster said, about the mole--I think he was truthful."

Kaldur's eyes widened. "Robin and I talked with Roy and Batman, we all agreed the possibility of a mole was unlikely."

She sighed as she stood. "Fine, Kaldur, if you don't want to believe this because it hurts to think that someone is a mole, that's fine with me. But there is one--maybe not on the Team, or on the Justice League, but there _is_ a mole."

Hearne had wanted to tell him, of all people. She didn't hold it against him, it wasn't his fault he didn't want to see the truth and get hurt--but she'd be damned if she shared anything else with him. She still had no idea who the mole was, and her chest twinged when she realized _Kaldur_ might be the mole.


	16. Hope Is a Dangerous Thing

**"DID KALDUR TELL YOU?"**

Hearne's eyebrows pinched together. "Did he tell me what?"

Artemis' eyes widened slightly. "Uh, well, I just assumed because you two were being so awkward, I mean the past few times you've been here you went on a swim, and he purposely woke up before you did so--"

"It isn't his fault, it's mine." She huffed. "Why are humans so complicated? They want you to not keep secrets, and then you don't, and they won't speak to you. It's so . . . hypocritical."

She sat down on the couch next to her. "It depends on what you told him, Olympia. I mean this in the nicest way, but you don't have a filter most of the time, and you might have said something . . . rude?"

"I didn't!" Hearne took a deep breath to calm herself. "I _didn't_. Since he was the leader, I went to him, because I knew if I stepped around him, it would anger him--but when I told him, he shut me out. I'm tired of trying to do what others want--of being so _wrong_."

Artemis sighed. "Trust me, I get what you mean. Well, some of it. But what did you tell him? Kaldur's a very loyal person, to everyone, I've never seen him do this before."

Hearne bit her lip. "I told him a theory I had, about the things we have been facing. But he's too scared to face the truth, and I suppose the truth includes me, too. Maybe he doesn't trust me anymore." She frowned slightly. "Artemis, how do you know if someone likes you?"

"Like, like-like?" she asked, which made Hearne blink in confusion. "Right, you don't know what that means. It's a thing kids made up, to say you have a crush on someone. You can like someone, or you can _like-like_ someone."

"Oh no! I don't mean in a . . . romantic way, I mean solely as a person. How do you know if someone isn't simply tolerating you?"

"Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say Kaldur doesn't only tolerate you. Remember how he treated us when we first arrived? _That_ was him tolerating, a bit passive-aggressively, but still. He wouldn't want to spend time with you, or include you in things."

She was just going to spit it out, before she cold regret it--Artemis understood these things, she was slightly like Hearne. Maybe she could answer her questions.

"Why do people do that?" she asked, picking at the skin by her nail. "Is that a friendly thing to do? I see it in books, and movies, but I never--I never thought of it in reality. It didn't . . . click in my mind."

"Olympia, have you ever had a friend before?"

She was silent. "Athena always spent time with me."

"Alright," Artemis said, determination in her tone, "once we get Wally's party over with, we're going to do two things. One: make Kaldur talk to you. Two: we're going to have a girl's night." At Hearne's hesitation, she explained it further. "Get popcorn, watch a movie, whatever you want to do."

"Okay." This 'friend' business was complicated. "When is Wally's party?"

"Whenever he manages to show up."

_* * *_

**_HEARNE WAS NOT_** a "birthday party" person. She knew the date of her birth, but she never celebrated it as a child--frankly, she didn't even know people celebrated it at all. When she met Athena, she found out people did. After Athena found out how uncomfortable she was with the idea of a party (even just for the two of them), they made a pact: on each's birthday, they would always buy the other a present, of the weirdest thing they could find, and trade. It made it feel less like a celebration, and more like a tradition.

Now, however, she felt thoroughly uncomfortable. She had to buy a present for Wally, with Athena's help, who had gave Barry a call on what Wally would want. A new pair of shoes, which seems laughable, since every pair he burned through. But that wasn't the worst part--they had to sit in the dark and yell surprise, which, she'd seen a hundred times in movies, and still failed to understand why it was so wonderful. On top of that, they had to eat cake, and blow out candles. What was the point of that? Yes, cake tasted good, but what were the candles for?

She was never going to understand human customs.

Hearne was acutely aware of Wally entering the room, muttering about how it'd be a "tragedy" to miss his own party. Scratch that, she loathed birthday parties.

When the lights beamed on, Hearne offered a weak 'surprise' in chorus with the others. It wasn't that she hated it was Wally's birthday--she hated the fact that there was a party, and that she had to be there.

"What!" Wally gasped in awful fake-shock. "Oh, you guys! You shouldn't have!"

"Right," Robin said with a laugh, "not like you've been hinting for _days_ or anything." 

As everyone began to talk, she made her way into the kitchen to lean against the counter. She sent Athena a text, saying that the Zeta tubes were down, and she'd stay the night and wait until morning to drive down. Both her and Athena knew the truth though. It was November, and Georgia was getting snow, as well as all of the other southern states. That never happened--and it certainly didn't happen in November, and not with every other state in the country.

Something was wrong, something large enough to create a blizzard across the entire country. "Snowstorm of the century" the media was calling it.

She would tell Kaldur, but seeing as how it went last time, she wouldn't, because no one had been paying attention to the news for the past four hours. Hearne grimaced as she realized what she was doing. She was petty. Or would it be jealous? She wasn't sure, but the fact that Kaldur refused to believe her--and then was ignoring her--made her want to stomp over to him and scream to the high heavens.

But she didn't, because that would be odd. Still, the thought was nice.

Her phone rang, making a few heads turn in her direction--including Kaldur, who she gave a stern glare to as she answered.

"Hearne, whatever this is--it's getting bad."

"What do you mean?"

"It's--it tore the roof off the barn," Athena huffed. "Now all the animals are in the garage, and the damn chickens are tearing up my couch!"

She sighed. "I know, but no one seems to be saying anything. I don't think any of them have even realized how wide-scale it is. They're all . . . celebrating."

"It's not a plague! Just try to relax into it. Maybe some cake and chit-chat."

"I have never 'chit-chatted' in my life. I am _certainly_ not starting for ceremonial cake."

Athena laughed. "Fine, just stand there all sad in the corner--and don't give me that 'I'm not doing that!' because I know you are--but get someone to fix this, please. Because--oh my gods, Henietta just laid an egg on my pillow! That's so wrong!"

Hearne bit back a laugh. "Alright, I'll get this fixed. But make sure none of them go in my room, I do _not_ want chicken scat in my valuables."

"I'll do my best!"

She surveyed the room, feeling comfortable in her routines. It was something she always unconsciously did. When she entered a room, she automatically categorized what could be used as weapons, any possible escapes, the way everyone within it was behaving, and who would be the worst threat. It was simple for her, almost like breathing. It made her feel . . . safe. Like someone had placed a blanket over her, as if knowing what to do when-- _if_ \--something went wrong soothed her nerves.

She'd grown since that day, the one that made her body involuntarily clench as the smell of ash and burning _everything_ seemed to fill her senses. For one, she learned how to control her emotions better, in a different way that was more efficient. Since she _had_ some now, she knew how to fake them better, and how to manipulate others better. Her knowledge of the world was more vast, now including basic things instead of how to drive a car before she could feasibly reach the pedals, or how to infiltrate an enemy organization.

Yet, while in some places she grew, others she failed in--or lacked, possibly, but she knew failed was the better word. She'd grown weak, the thing in her that stopped her from feeling anything towards the blood on her hands was gone, and only appeared in her darkest moments. The things that used to make her _her_ were gone. No more harsh, callous words that were so accustomed to the place she lived, or attacks that would be unprovoked here, ones that used to be as easy as walking to her. 

These things--they made her her, or at least they used to. Now she was different. Somehow, in the short time she had been with the Team, the remaining part of her that itched to take someone's life when given the opportunity was gone. It was still there, hidden away, waiting to claw at her when it was the right time, to call her weak and cowardly--but it no longer took center stage. Which was the most frightening thing about it all. _That_ was what made the Fowlers feared, their incredible power that they used to torture whoever they saw fit, kill whoever they dared to. Was Hearne even a Fowler if she didn't kill?

No, she was. Maybe not the kind they would want--definitely the kind that they would have killed if they were still here to do so--but the kind that was left. Hearne was all that was left of her species, and with what she hoped was acceptance, she realized that if she was going to carry the blood line forward, it would be on her terms. No more culture surrounded by violence and lack of grounding, it would be something that didn't make children fear the moment their eyes opened.

The newfound feeling of acceptance was cut in half when Batman's voice rang over the intercom. He always had to ruin everything, didn't he? 

"Attention, team. Suit up. Polar stealth. Mission briefing in five."

_* * *_

**_HEARNE HATED THE_** polar stealth suits. Everyone else's looked fine, although Robin's made him look like more of an owl than anything, but Hearne absolutely loathed hers. There wasn't anything inherently wrong with it, it was essentially her suit, but white instead of black. Perhaps that was the problem. It made her skin appear much more tan than it was--which was no problem to her--but it was the fact that with her skin appearing much more tan, it made other things appear. Which was why she always avoided the color of white.

One firm glare made Wally stop staring at the more-noticeable scar on her cheek, but it still itched at her that he'd seen it. Of course, they'd seen her scars before. Some were obvious. But the fact that some were standing out due to something as simple as a color change? It made her feel out of control, something she hated more than anything in the world.

Plus, the suit was simply ugly. All of them were.

The holographic screen was large, large enough that Batman's face was triple the size of Hearne. It made his blank expression seem even more emotionless, if that was possible.

"Where's Flash?" Wally asked, sounding slightly dissapointed.

"Flash and Red Tornado already have their assignments," Batman answered. "A massive ice storm has paralyzed North America from coast to coast. Satellite imagery has detected five flying ice fortresses, source unknown, which seem to be responsible and must be stopped." 

Hearne quickly analyzed the small holographic image the appeared of one. She could tell they were large, a sizeable magnitude, and would take several people to destroy.

"Well," Wally said, "can't the Watchtower blow them out of the sky or something?"

Hearne sighed in disappointment, did he really think the Watchtower was weaponized?

"What's a Watchtower?" Zatanna asked quietly.

Batman sighed in frustration, something that sounded more Bruce than anything. "The League's orbiting headquarters is _not_ weaponized. And with both Green Lanterns offworld, I need all hands on deck."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Robin asked, barely-held-back excitement in his tone. "The League and The Team fighting side by side?"

"Whoa!" Wally said, his eyes wide. "Really?"

"Superboy," Batman ordered, "use the Supercycle to rendezvous with the Batplane at Ice Fortress 1. You'll drop off Robin, Aqualad, and Olympia, then continue on with Wolf to meet up with Black Canary and Red Tornado in Ice Fortress 2."

She was paired with Robin and Kaldur--wonderful. She could work with both, neither were a problem, but she knew Kaldur would do nothing more than speak when it was necessary. She did _not_ want to deal with his subtle jabs at the moment.

"Ms. Martian, Artemis, and Zatanna take the Bioship and rendezvous with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter at Ice Fortress 3. Other Leaguers will deal with fortresses 4 and 5. Sending all coordinates now."

"Uh," Wally interjected, stepping forward, "Batman? I think you skipped . . ."

"Kid Flash," he acknowledged, which made Wally smile in anticipation, "a young girl in Seattle is in desperate need of a heart transplant. With all conventional air traffic grounded by the storm, you'll need to pick up the donor heart in Boston and run it three thousand miles across the country."

Wally's face fell. "Who is this girl?"

"Does it matter?"

"No," Wally mumbled, "of course not. But . . . can't we Zeta--"

"Zeta Tubes are offline," Robin confirmed, "sorry."

"Right. Then how can I say no?" Hearne, surprisingly, felt slightly empathetic towards Wally. "Guess I won't be needing stealth." He placed a hand on his chest, and his traditional suit colors spread through his suit. "Speedy delivery boy, at your service."

Hearne wanted to take her empathy back, his saddened tone was annoying, and it made her chest ache.

She looked to Kaldur. "We should--"

But he was already gone, ignoring her attempt to speak with him as he walked down the hall. Her lips pursed together in frustration as Robin put a hand on her shoulder (which she did her best not to flinch at, and she was proud of herself).

"Whatever is going on, he'll come around."

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't count on it."

_* * *_

**_THERE WERE EIGHT_** weapons mounted on the ice fortresses. The fortresses were large, larger than the average house, with minimal cover. The weapons were large, a form of mounted gun, that shot out fast-paced bullets, which consisted of an ice and electricity ratio. After those were taken down, there was the more difficult issue: rendering the ice fortress unusable without killing civilians--which would be complicated, since once it stopped working, it would crash into the ground. That part was Hearne's job, which was why she had brought the necklace once more.

Robin and Batman ran towards one weapon while Kaldur and Aquaman ran for the other. As the sounds of machines firing filled her ears, she flew into the air, darkness beneath her body as she hovered above a weapon on the farthest side.

It shot at her and she let out a cry of pain, her body spasming in the air as she fell several feet before she caught herself. Her skin burned and ached, like someone had set her veins aflame. _Why didn't the darkness shield her?_

Angrily, she threw out her arm, and three beams of darkness shaped like daggers impaled the weapon. It sparked, plumed with smoke, and sadly puttered to a stop.

Kaldur ran from around the bend of the fortress, soot smudged onto his cheekbone. "Are you alright?"

Her lips pursed together as her feet left the metal top once again. "I'm fine, Aqualad."

Momentarily, hurt etched into his face, and they both knew why. She'd said Aqualad, not Kaldur. But he quickly covered it up, ever the leader, and dashed in the other direction.

Hearne scowled and took to the air once more, angrily throwing out her hand towards a mounted weapon, distractedly moving to the side as a bullet raced towards her.

Stupid Kaldur. He had to make things complicated. Why did he care that she was hurt? Why did he not speak to her _until_ she was hurt? Couldn't he just not speak to her at all?

Much to her frustration, she saw what Kaldur had chosen to make his next target. The two mounted weapons that were joint together at the base, which he was having trouble with, since every time he went to make a move, one would shoot, and with both, there was no downtime. For a moment, she thought another person would come to his aid--possibly Batman, or Flash--but the rest of them were busy with the remaining weapons.

With her lips twisted into a scowl, she dove downward toward him and came to a quick, sharp stop beside him. In two back-to-back pulls of her arm, both weapons were left smoldering. _Huh._ Perhaps anger was a more useful tool than she thought. 

"Uh--thank you," Kaldur said, his eel tattoos slowly diminishing back to black. There was a small cut on his forehead, most likely from some form of debris, that was bleeding down into his eyebrow, but he didn't seem to take notice.

"You have a--" She cut herself short, her fingers curling into a fist. _No,_ she would not heal something as trivial as a cut, and certainly not for him. "You're welcome."

"I wanted to say I'm sorry." Hearne felt herself go rigid in surprise. "How I have been treating you is not fair, this was not your fault."

"It was my fault," she said firmly. "I should have known telling you was not the right choice, information such as that would overload the ordinary--"

"It was _not_ your fault." Hearne held her breath, her eyes slightly wide--even though they were standing on an ice fortress, with the sound of battle behind them, all she could think about was how he stared down into her eyes and the warmth of his hand on her skin. "It was mine. You told me something I should have already known, and I blamed you for my own incompetence. Say what you need to say."

She bit her tongue, staring at the eel tattoo on his arm. "It hurt. I came to you, because you were the only person among heroes that I trusted to tell, and you shunned me for it. What I told you was--it was hard for me, some things about what I told you are unlike anything you can imagine. To have you ignore that because you could not handle the truth it--it felt like I put my trust in the wrong person."

No, it made her feel like she should never have trusted at all.

"I am sorry," he said, and she truly believed him. "What I did was unjust, and I hope you know I will never treat you as such again."

Hearne stared into his eyes and she believed him. It made her feel like her body was stone, because she hadn't trusted someone like this in so long. It felt like lightning was pounding in her chest.

Kaldur went to take a step forward, but the two of them jolted in surprise as Flash sped to a stop beside them. He smiled briefly before he looked between the two of them, suddenly seeming rather uncomfortable.

"The, uh--the weapons, they're down. Batman and the kid are working on getting this thing to go down safely, so we need your help." He blinked. "About not crashing this thing."

She nodded, her cheeks blazing for a reason unknown to her. "Of course. The five of you will have to be in the Batplane, the amount of energy this will take will . . . it is not something you want to be encased in if you don't have the facilities for it."

Flash gave a thumbs up. "Nice, sounds terrifying. We good to go?"

The two teenagers followed Flash, sprinting behind him until they reached Batman and Robin, who had clearly finished, since they were talking to each other calmly. They never did that unless they were finished.

"Is it done?"

Robin smiled, the slightly unsettling one he seemed to do frequently. With one press of a button, we'll be plummeting down hundreds of miles an hour."

Hearne grimaced. "Terrific. You five--"she looked distantly towards the Batplane that was grounded several feet from them"--have to board the Batplane, it isn't safe for any of you to be aboard the fortress while I stabilize it."

Batman's lip twitched, like he was going to argue, but he decided against it. "Alright. Once we're far enough away, we'll shut the fortress down, and you'll find somewhere to set it down safely. _Preferably_ without any casualties." 

She nodded curtly in response, and the five heroes quickly boarded the Batplane. A small bout of anxiousness filled her as it pulled away, distant enough that the abrupt falling of the fortress wouldn't disturb it. She would have to jump off at just the right time so that she wouldn't be sucked back towards the fortress, keep up enough so that it wasn't too far out of her range, encase the several ton machine in enough darkness to keep it from crushing everything beneath it, and then land it somewhere safely.

This was going to be _awful_.

They gave the signal--a small light flickering on the front of the Batplane--and she dove off. She flattened her arms against her body, torpedoing towards the ground as fast as she feasibly could before she heard the haunting sound of the fortress falling. It shut down with a loud, splitting creak, like the hull of a ship hitting a rock, and the temperature in the atmosphere seemed to rise without the constant downpour of snow.

Her breath came in quick, short spurts, barely making it into her lungs as she willed darkness to encase her and push her farther faster.

The fortress passed her, falling in a smoking blur, and her skin burned with warmth as darkness pushed her forward. The fortress was still hundreds of feet below her, looming above the upcoming town, but Hearne forced herself to remain calm as she neared it.

_One, two, three._

She came to a stop, her legs shooting in front of her with such force she swore her spine snapped--and she outstretched her arms. Immediately, sweat beaded on her forehead as the fortress slowly halted. She could feel it, as if it pulled from within her bones. It felt like she was trying to raise the sky upon her shoulders.

Hearne grit her teeth, her veins seeming to burn with fire as the fortress began to raise, foot by foot. Painstakingly, with shaking arms, she moved backward. Every second seemed to be an eternity as she moved the machine through the air carefully.

Her stomach flipped, her body suddenly seeming like it would collapse, but she pushed the feeling down and persisted. Only several hundred more feet.

She couldn't even force herself to breathe as she reached the outskirts of the town. She threw her arms into the air painfully, the fortress raising with them, and hurled it into the sky. Like a tremendous clap of thunder, it crashed down into a field of corn, and Hearne could--for the first time that day--feel the necklace growing hot against her skin. So hot it was beginning to scorch her.

With a fearful realization, her body began to plummet downward, and only a small wisp of darkness would appear despite her monumental efforts. _She'd over-exerted herself, for the first time in years._

At the last moment, before her body smacked into the dirt, she managed to conjure up enough darkness to catch her. Her head nearly hit the ground, her head hitting against her neck so hard that, for a moment, she thought her neck had snapped.

Instantly, after not even two seconds, the darkness disappeared. She let out a gasp of pain, her eyes shut tightly together to avoid anything else, but she was thankful that the darkness had still caught her. She didn't try to move, she simply stared at the sky--which was a brighter blue than she'd ever seen it, nearly white--and took large, nearly-gasping breaths. In a moment, she'd get to her feet. Once she could get air into her lungs without wishing she didn't, she'd get to her feet.

The Batplane landed near her, the corn parting from the wind as it landed. A stalk slapped her in the face and she grimaced, a cut on her face reopening from the force of it. She bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood as she stood, her hands on her knees as she stood on shaky feet. With a deep breath of burning hot air, she forced herself into the best position she could manage, one that _didn't_ make her look pathetic.

Robin and Kaldur burst into the row where she stood, and Kaldur didn't hesitate as he wrapped his arms around her. She tensed--both from pain and confusion--but nonetheless she carefully returned it, her hand softly put onto his back.

"Way to not die," Robin remarked. "Good job."

Kaldur let her go, looking slightly embarrassed at what he'd done. "We were worried we would not reach you in time--it looked like you had hit the ground."

"I did," she said, before cringing as the two's eyes widened. "Not like that! I caught myself, then I hit the ground. No broken bones."

Maybe one, _something_ didn't quite feel right.

"I am glad you are alright."

"Me too," she said. "Dying for a third time? That would be wretched."

Robin laughed, and after a small second, Kaldur did, too. Hearne smiled, and for a brief moment, she forgot the deep-seated ache in her bones. She did her best to remove it, but a small part of her _hoped_ this could work.


	17. It's Never Worth It

**HEARNE HATED HOW THIS WORKED.** As Athena put it, "she had nothing better to do, and she had to do it," which meant any time Batman called, she had to report to the Cave. She knew that, possibly, if she stopped now she would be fine, and the energy that had built up within her over the years was sated enough. But only slightly, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, the Team existing gave her something to do in her free time.

Still, as much as she liked getting bloody and bruised knuckles, she did _not_ like having to quickly get ready for a mission. She already spent some of her time at the Cave, between training and Black Canary's sessions--the idea of any more, much less suddenly, didn't seem more welcoming.

Inherently, she didn't hate spending time there, or with the Team. But the fact that she _liked_ spending time with them was what unnerved her. By now, she knew it was "perfectly normal," as Black Canary said, but it still left her feeling out of her depth when she smiled involuntarily, or laughed so suddenly she almost thought someone had struck her.

On top of that, she was not Batman--or Bruce's--number one fan at the moment.

"Rumaan Harjavti is the democratically-elected President of Qurac," Batman stated, standing in front of a holographic image of both the President and the country. A separate video appeared in front of those, of Bruce Wayne shaking hands on national television with the President. "Harjavti has been praised as a fair, wise leader and a humanitarian."

" _Sure_ ," Wally mused to Robin, "any friend of Bruce Wayne's."

Hearne kept her surprise to herself, but the fact that he knew was a bit astounding. Yes, he and Robin had been friends for years, but very few people knew Batman's identity, and the idea of _Wally_ having it was laughable.

"But five days ago Harjavti allied himself with the dictator of the neighboring nation of Bialya, Queen Bee." Hearne grimaced. Queen Bee was someone her family had dealt with since her rise to power--someone Hearne knew to only trust as far as she could throw her. 

Connor scoffed. "Not a fan."

"Few are," Batman gruffly agreed. "But Harjavti suddenly backs Queen Bee's baseless claim that Qurac and Bialya were one nation in ancient times, and has announced that the countries will reunify at a ceremony in Qurac."

A video of a newsreel appeared, displaying Harjavti at a podium with several of his soldiers. "After the ceremony, I will step down as President so that our rightful monarch, Queen Bee, may rule." 

Quickly, the video switch to one of Queen Bee, at a podium of her own, with her own soldiers. "I laud President Harjavti for unifying our peoples and I will _gladly_ come to Qurac to be crowned sole leader of our nation."

"And the Quracis are okay with this?" Wally sputtered.

"Hardly," Batman responded, an image of a Quracian protest appearing on screen. "They're well aware of the brutality of Queen Bee's regime. But Harjavti has censored--silenced all legitimate protest and invited the Bialyian militarily into his country to enforce martial law."

"Queen Bee has to be controlling Harjavti," Robin insisted. "Doesn't she have the power to enthrall most men?"

_And some women._

"And some women," Batman added, "but not long distance. And we have confirmation she hasn't left Bialya. Something else is at work here. Find out what." He glanced at Robin. "Robin, you're team leader."

"Promotion," Wally whispered, raising his hand for a high-five, "sweet!"

Robin walked forward, blankly ignoring his best friend's motion. "Me? Wh-what about Aqualad?"

"Busy helping Aquaman. You're the next logical choice."

As the Team began to mutter to themselves, Hearne made eye contact with Batman. Even though he wore a cowl, the communication was clear: he knew how dangerous Queen Bee was, yet he seemed to think they were capable of handling it, and not to trust his judgement.

Hearne wasn't a fool, she knew how powerful these people were, much more than the Justice League did.

_* * *_

**_"THIS IS A_** dreadful idea." 

"What?" Wally crossed his arms. "We're stopping an invasion! That's one of the coolest things you can do."

"Stopping _Queen Bee's_ invasion," Hearne tiredly pointed out. "You do not simply _stop_ Queen Bee. However this mission ends--it will not end easily. There will be repercussions for us all."

"Dang," Wally whistled, "are you scared of her?"

Hearne's lips pursed. "Queen Bee is someone _all_ of us should fear. This mission is a mistake, he should have known that."

"Batman knows what he's doing," Robin said, "he's more experienced than most of the League."

"Yet he lacks the knowledge because he does not have the means to seek it." Hearne sighed. "I'm not starting an argument, all I wanted to say was that you should tread lightly."

"Jeez, and I thought Kaldur spoke like a wizard."

Forget this, she was done with helping them. They were too foolish to see the truth, and she knew that telling them would be too dangerous--they would have to figure this out, the hard way. Even if it ended awfully, they needed to learn from their mistakes.

Robin cleared his throat. "We're right above the Quraci-Bialyian border."

"A border that the Bialyians are in the process of ignoring," Wally noted.

Bialyian tanks ran over fence posts, driving the barbed wire into the ground as they continued forward. Soldiers traveled in behind them, over the useless flattened fence, guns positioned perfectly in their arms. A herd of wildebeest ran forward, frightened by the abruptness of their entrance.

"No opposition," Connor noticed. "Guess Harjavti really is in bed with Bialya."

"Wouldn't expect opposition here," Robin said, looking down at his hologlove, "it's an animal sanctuary."

Perfect. Less trouble to be made if there was no one to see it.

"The Logan Animal Sanctuary?" M'gann gasped.

"You've heard of it?"

"Guys," Wally said, sounding slightly out of breath, "the tanks have caused a stampede. With civilians in harm's way."

Hearne stood to look out the window just as Connor did. "I see them," he said, "a woman and a small boy."

"We have to help them!" M'gann said.

"We're way off mission here," Robin pointed out.

"I agree." Hearne glared at their shocked looks. "We cannot stop Queen Bee's movement, it isn't wise."

She waited for Robin's order, and her heart dropped when she heard it. "Deploy. But stealth mode. If the Bialyians know we hit 'em this becomes an international incident."

"You may be the leader," Hearne agreed, "but I will not be seen disagreeing with Queen Bee. I will stay aboard the Bioship."

"Fine," Robin sighed. "Make sure nothing goes wrong up here, but Miss Martian will be controlling the ship. Understand?"

"Perfectly."

They deployed, and Hearne anxiously stood as she watched them out the window of the Bioship. _And then it fired on the tanks_.

"Stop!" she exclaimed. "Bioship--do not fire on the soldiers!"

It seemed hesitant and didn't any longer, but as she looked out the window, she knew what had been done. They didn't save the woman and the child from the stampede, they ruined the movement of the soldiers.

The remaining soldiers retreated hurriedly as the stampede cleared and Hearne felt anger pooling in her chest as she dropped down from the hatch in the Bioship.

"Are you alright?" Robin asked the two.

Wally zoomed forward, several guns in his arms--gods, who taught them strategy?

"Mom?" the boy said excitedly. "Mom! Mom! We were just saved by Robin and Kid Flash!"

"Well," Wally said with a wave of his arm--now void of weapons--, "Superboy and Miss Martian helped too. And Olympia, I guess."

Hearne's lips twisted into displeasure as M'gann dropped the oryx from the air gently. This was going to be an awful mission, she knew it deep in her bones.

"Oryx!" the boy exclaimed, running forward and hugging the mammal.

"We diverted the Bialyians around the sanctuary," Robin reported. "You should be safe now."

"Uh, yeah," Wally said, "coast is clear, Miss M. You can de-camo now."

Hesitantly, M'gann appeared out of her invisible form. "H-hi."

Why was she so nervous? Hearne suspected it had to do with her somehow knowing of the animal sanctuary.

"You may have made things worse," the woman said, and Hearne couldn't help but agree. "Bialyian border crossings are a way of life here. Usually they wreck a few fences and move on. Engaging them might have made us a target."

"Mom, the boy groaned, "uncool!"

The woman deflated slightly. "I'm sorry. I should thank you." She walked over to the boy and gently wrapped an arm around him. "This is my son, Garfield. I'm--"

"Marie Logan!" M'gann said excitedly. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting you in person! Uh, I've--I've, uh, admired you stance on animal rights for years!"

 _You've only been on earth six months,_ Connor pointed out in the mind link, and Hearne had to bite back a smile as M'gann's eyes widened discreetly.

A wildebeest walked forward, limping, and Hearne felt sorry for the poor creature. No doubt a doing of the Team's.

'Marie' hurried forward to check it. "The oryx is sick, and I think you injured this wildebeest."

"Uh, sorry?" Connor said.

"I suppose it was unavoidable," Marie sighed. "But both need to go to our clinic."

"The boys and Olympia can do that," M'gann quickly suggested. "You and I can, uh, fix your fences."

"That's not exactly our--"

"Robin," M'gann said, holding her hands in a mock praying position as the boy begged his mother.

In unison, like two tired parents both agreed, leaving M'gann and Garfield silently cheering.

 _For the record,_ Olympia said, _I am not okay with this._

_* * *_

**_A MONKEY ABRUPTLY_** jumped down from a tree they walked under and Hearne flinched, instinctively getting in a defensive position with one hand raised. 

The monkey jumped onto Garfield's shoulders and he laughed lightly. "It's okay, meet monkey."

"Good name," Connor said as Hearne straightened herself out, "but I hate monkeys."

The monkey through a candy bar it was holding at Connor's head and he let out a noise of frustration, causing the monkey to screech.

"What are you going to do?" Hearne said with a smile. "Fight the monkey?"

" _You_ nearly karate chopped it out of the air, so I think we're even."

Hearne's eyes widened slightly and the three boys laughed, the screeching of the monkey following soon behind.

"What is it with you and animals?" Wally asked as they made their way into what Hearne assumed was a house. "Is that one of your powers? Are you an _animal whisperer?_ "

She scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, there's no such thing. I simply . . . have a connection to them is all."

"Riight," Wally mused, "that's definitely what an animal whisperer would say."

"So," Garfield said, the monkey still on his shoulder, "pretty weird about Miss Martian and my mom, huh?"

Hearne nodded as she sat down on one of the armchairs. "Very."

Connor's eyebrows pinched together. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, she looks _exactly_ like Marie," Garfield said, "you know, except greener."

"She does?" Wally questioned.

"Well, _duh,_ especially back when mom was a TV star on _Hello, Megan!_."

"Wait," Wally said, "'hello, Megan,' is a TV show?"

"I just thought it was something she said all the time," Robin agreed.

"Yeah," Garfield nodded, " _on_ the TV show. Way before we were born, only one season. You can't even find it online." He looked cautiously towards the mess of VHS tapes under the small, square television. "I know mom has a tape somewhere." He looked through the tapes before presenting one like it was a prized jewel. " _Hello, Megan,_ pilot episode."

He blew the dust off of the tape and pressed it into the DVR.

"Woah," Wally noted, "you still have VHS. Where's your 8-track?"

Was VHS not as normal as Hearne thought it was? That was mostly what Athena used, she said it was "better."

"Wait!" Connor said, one hand on his hip as he turned his head--a sign they all recognized. "Aircraft, headed this way."

Hearne burst to her feet and ran outside as Robin ordered Garfield to stay put. M'gann and Marie were approaching and M'gann's face twisted in confusion. "What is it?"

Hearne looked up to see three approaching aircrafts--sleek, fast, definitely Queen Bee's. She ducked, a shield of darkness quickly covering Wally, Robin, and her as rapid gunfire hit the dirt ahead of them.

As it stopped, Marie frantically looked at Connor. "Where's my son?"

"I ordered him to stay inside," Robin answered.

"He's eight! He doesn't _do_ orders!"

At that moment, the door to the barn opened and the oryx and wildebeest ran through. Hearne felt her stomach drop as Garfield called for his mother. "It's okay, I got the animals out!"

Hearne flew forward, and even at her top speed, it was no use. A plane appeared, gunfire hitting a propane tank--and blowing the barn apart. She was blasted backward, debris scratching her body as she quickly flew upward, Garfield dropping into her arms.

As she gently dropped to the ground, he groaned in her arms. She felt entirely out of her depth and was quick to hand him to his mother.

The planes came forward once again, leaving M'gann and Connor to head towards them angrily.

"I told you there'd be consequences," Marie said tearfully.

"Always," Robin agreed grimly, "let's get him inside."

Hurriedly, they ran to a room in the back of the house, one that was surprisingly filled with medical supplies. Marie sat Garfield down on the bed and started to prepare him, gently sticking a needle that was connected to an IV bag into his vein. Hearne watched as she wrapped his head to stop a gash from bleeding--this was her fault. She should have done something, yet she didn't, and not stopping the Team caused a death. She couldn't convince herself this was collateral damage, not this time.

"He's in shock," Marie said, a stethoscope held to Garfield's chest. "He needs a blood transfusion. Now. Is either of you O negative."

Robin looked at a screen that appeared on his hologlove. "No. Sorry."

"Neither am I," she sighed, "it's the hardest to match. I kept a supply in the clinic."

"I can run him to the nearest hospital," Wally said from the doorway.

"The nearest hospital with a guaranteed blood supply is half an hour away at your top speed," Robin stated. "Longer by Bioship." He looked to Hearne. "You've healed people before--why aren't you doing it now?"

"This is different."

"How?" Wally yelled. "You died and brought yourself back! This can't be any different!"

"It _is_ ," she said sharply. "The amount of dark energy that would have to take . . . it isn't worth it."

"Like hell it is," Marie gasped, "if you can fix him, fix him!"

Hearne sighed shakily as she finally met the woman's eyes. "Marie, what are the worst qualities in your son?"

The woman looked like she had been slapped. " _Excuse me?_ "

"Exactly," Hearne said, "he's too young to know. Maybe he has a taste for violence, or a habit of perpetual lying. The amount of dark energy it takes to heal someone this injured is a dangerous amount--someone this young is more likely to succumb to the darkness. If I healed him, the person that wakes up will not be the son you remember."

"Just heal him!" Marie had tears in her eyes. "How is this even a question? I don't care what happens, just fix him!"

"I can't." Hearne bit her lip. "I will _not_ let him become one of those things. For you, for him--and for everyone else."

"This is ridiculous!" Marie looked at Wally and Robin. "Can't you do something? She's your responsibility, isn't she?"

"I--she might be right," Robin said with a sigh. "I don't know how her powers work. She knows them better than anyone."

"This is bullshit!"

"I might be able to help."

Everyone in the room whipped around to see M'gann standing at the door shyly. "My shape shifting occurs at the cellular level. I think I can morph my blood to match his."

Hearne was relieved. Because as much as she liked to believe she would never allow herself to heal Garfield, she knew, deep down, if it was let him die or do it, she might have done it. The room suddenly seemed suffocating and she walked out to sit in a chair in the living room. She gasped, the air seeming to get caught just beyond her lips as she abruptly put her head between her knees.

_Breathe, count, breathe._

She squeezed her eyes shut as memories flashed, rapid-fire, in her brain. The Forsaken, their screams haunting her nightmares for years to come, their blackened veins awful to the eye. The feel of her mother's hand against her face, the way her skin would sting painfully as she dug her feet into the ground to keep from falling over. The Conclave--

_Breathe, count, breathe._

The darkness, suffocating, her too-young mind failing to comprehend what was encasing her, shrouding her from the world. The way she screamed--but not for anyone, because no one would rescue her, that was never their way--she would scream until her throat was raw, praying it would simply _end_.

_Breathe, count, breathe. Breathe, count, breathe._

Gradually, she seemed to be able to get air into her lungs, and the heat in her face seemed to disappear. For several minutes, she sat, her knees buried into the sides of her head, greedily taking in air as she tried to calm her too-fast heart.

When she finally looked up, the Team--aside from M'gann--was filing out of the room. She did her best to look calm and collected, but she felt so undeniably _tired_. It had never been that bad before, not even during sessions with Black Canary.

"You okay?" Robin asked as he sat down in the chair beside her. "You look a little . . ."

"Fine," she quickly answered. "Right now, we have to worry about Harjavti. Unless any of you have a wonderful plan on how to stop him without angering Queen Bee, we have nothing."

"Screw Queen Bee," Wally scoffed as he flopped down into a chair. "She's already done enough. We can't just be scared of her." His eyes narrowed towards Hearne. "Really, Olympia, what's got you so shaken up? You never back down from a fight."

"Because I know I can win." She pursed her lips. "I understand you have grown up, knowing of great heroes that always beat the odds, but that was not how I was raised, nor how I was taught. Queen Bee--she is not someone you can simply 'beat.' If we do this, it might not be this month, or this year, but she _will_ want revenge of some sort. I just want all of you to know that before we do this."

Connor's eyebrows pinched together. "What aren't you saying?"

"All I'm _saying_ is that we have to be prepared. I doubt we will ever have to fight her, but going against her is something she will remember."

She wished Kaldur or Artemis was here, they always knew the right things to say in their own ways. Hearne wasn't that gifted with her words, and she doubted she ever would be.

"Great," Robin sighed, dragging a gloved hand down his face. "On top of all this, Harjavti steps down tomorrow, subjecting all of Qurac to this danger--to _Queen Bee._ " He rested his arms behind his head. "Kid--KF, can you find a news station?"

Wally held two remotes in his hands while he walked towards the television. "Sure, which remote is it?" He pressed the smaller grey one and the television flickered to life, obnoxious singing filling Hearne's ears-- _Hello, Megan!_ began to play.

Hearne watched the title sequence with mild interest, her mind too cluttered to think much of it. Yet, still, her mild interest picked up more than the average person's complete attention. M'gann looked like Marie when she was much younger, but not entirely. Marie's face was longer and more narrow, while M'gann's was rounder with a softer jawline. Marie had bright blue eyes while M'gann had a caramel color--still, it was undeniable who she had taken her appearance from.

The boys crowded towards the television while Hearne still sat, her hands on her head as she tried to devise a plan. How would this work? Yes, they could free Harjavti from whatever control Queen Bee had him under, but then what? It wouldn't stop there, and Queen Bee would devise another plan to take over Qurac. She was at a loss. The mission was only to free Harjavti from her control, but Hearne couldn't help but think what would come after, how this would effect the citizens--how it would effect _the Team_.

With conflicted thoughts, she decided that she would only focus on the mission. Whatever happened afterward was not her concern. She would only do what she was meant to, nothing more, nothing less. 

When Hearne turned her attention back to the television, Marie-- _Megan_ \--was opening the door to reveal a young, slightly muscular man with shaggy black hair. Applause sounded, which Hearne never quite understood, but she continued to watch anyway.

"Connor!" Megan exclaimed, enveloping him in a hug. "I thought you'd never get here!"

Hearne's eyes widened minorly and she looked to Connor, who avoided it and instead looked towards the wall. _This_ was going to be awkward.

"It's done." At M'gann's voice, everyone whipped around, and Wally fumbled with the remote, frantically trying to change the channel. "All we can do is wait."

Coincidentally, the television opened to a news station, where Harjavti stood in front of a podium, once again making a speech. "My fellow Quracis, Queen Bee's rule is a gift to Qurac."

"Is that Harjavti?" M'gann asked, walking forward to see the television screen.

Quickly, Hearne's eyes caught someone standing behind Harjavti, a hood over his head with his eyes downcast--Psimon.

"Hey, that guy in the back," Connor said, "I know him."

"It's Psimon," M'gann pointed out, "the psychic we fought last time we were in Bialyia."

"You fought Psimon?"

Wally shrugged. "You were kinda all murder-y, so you weren't included. Sorry."

"He was working for Queen Bee then," M'gann said, ignoring the interruption, "he must be controlling Harjavti for her now."

Wally ran a hand down his face, nearly unhooking his goggles. "But I still remember the headache from when he brain blasted us."

"We have to get Harjavti away from him," Robin stated, determination clear in his tone. 

Hearne flinched as Marie suddenly appeared at the edge of the room. "I think it worked. Garfield's stable."

"Good, because we have our mission."

M'gann looked to Hearne, and for the first time in months, she remembered that last time they were in Bialyia, the telepath had seen _much_ more than Hearne would have liked her to.

_* * *_

**_HEARNE HAD NEVER_** been in such a tightly enclosed space with so many people. She had to force herself from panicking, counting with each breath she took as Robin stuck the camera through the vent in the ceiling.

 _Harjavti's alone,_ he reported.

He dropped down first, Hearne following second, with the others coming last, less silent than they were. She supposed she couldn't expect that much of them, they weren't trained for stealth.

Robin walked forward, his shoulders straight as he prepared himself. But before he could even open his mouth, Harjavti turned his head and spoke. "Where's my daughter?" He groaned. "Where's Psimon?"

"Forget him." Robin jutted a thumb over his shoulder. "Let's get you out of here."

Both doors on opposite sides of the room burst open, and Hearne quickly took a defensive stance. They knew this was going to happen, they prepared themselves and purposely did it for a distraction, but Hearne still didn't like the feeling of being cornered.

The soldiers sported advanced weapons, ones that glowed red in the dim darkness of the room. An older soldier stepped forward--no doubt a commander of some sort--and two soldiers parted for him. "Well, well. American heroes here to assassinate the President. Such a shame we arrived too late to stop him."

 _Those are Apocalyptan weapons,_ Connor said in the mindlink, and Hearne faultered for a brief moment.

For a brief moment, she couldn't make sense of Robin's words as her mind seemed to buzz at the information. She didn't know how Connor knew of Apokolips, but all Hearne knew was that after this, she had much more to deal with.

 _I found Psimon!_ M'gann announced, and it was clear she had left the room.

Connor went to stop her, but Robin ordered him not to, stating that the mission was Harjavti.

Hearne took the curved dagger from her belt and held it tightly in her hand. "Alright, boys, shall we start?"

The soldiers rushed forward, and Hearne kicked off of the desk--narrowly missing a beam of red energy in the process--to land a firm kick towards the soldier's neck. Hearne didn't take time to assess him as he limply crumpled to the ground, her body already pivoting off of his shoulder to land on the back of another. The man cried out, shocked, and blindly aimed at the wall as she wrapped her arms around his throat.

She sent a ball of darkness behind her, sending a man colliding into the wall as the one she was on fell to his knees, unconscious. Hearne got to her feet, instantly kicking a man square in the chest to send him back several feet. She ducked as a beam of energy was sent her way and ran forward to kick his feet out from under him. With a shout of pain, he fell, and Hearne brought her foot down on his head--only with enough force to knock him unconscious. 

"Hey, Olympia, little help here!"

She turned to see Wally pinned by three men, and she rushed forward, digging her curved blade into one of their shoulders as she flung him backward. With one firm kick, the other two men were thrown sideways off of Wally.

"Thanks," he gasped, "nearly blacked out there."

Curtly, she nodded, and twirled the dagger in her hand. The men scrambled backward, fumbling for the button to fire their weapons--but Hearne reached them first and touched the blade, which was wafting in darkness, to their chests. Instantly, they went limp, their eyes rolled back into their heads.

Someone came up behind Hearne and she turned on her heel, mere milliseconds from raising her foot to kick them square in the jaw before she realized who it was. As her body slowly began to calm itself from the adrenaline rush, she noticed that the soldiers were all unconscious, their weapons in disarray.

"Is Harjavti alright?"

Robin nodded, and Hearne looked to see Harjavti crouched behind his desk. "He's okay."

A woman burst into the room, and as Hearne raised her dagger, Harjavti burst to his feet. "Stop! That is my daughter!"

Hearne relaxed and put the dagger back into its holster. "My apologies, President Harjavti."

Wally blinked at her in surprise, mouthing _'wow the formality'_ as Harjavti's daughter embraced her father. "Thank you for saving my father. We will take care of him now."

Hearne nodded respectfully. "Of course, Ms. Harjavti."

_Let's go._

At Robin's order, the four of them sprinted out into the hallway, hoping the direction they were going was the correct one.

They reached the theater, Psimon directly in their sights--and they crumpled. Hearne's hands went to her head, a scream of utter pain passing her lips as she fell to the floor. Her body spasmed as she tried to move towards Psimon, but it was no use.

For the first time in years, the dark was entirely unwelcome. For what seemed to stretch on as an eternity, Hearne could feel herself, trapped within her own mind, surrounded by the black emptiness of _nothing_. Through the haze of it, she wondered numbly why she couldn't wake, why her eyes would simply _open_.

When they did, she came to with a gasp, her head pounding as she scrambled backward. Her back hit a pillar as she looked around, her eyes wide.

"It's okay," M'gann said, holding her hands up, "Psimon brain blasted you. I stopped him."

Hearne looked in the direction M'gann was, where Psimon lay amongst the rubble, his eyes unfocused towards the ceiling. She could see that nothing lay behind those eyes, and for some time, nothing would.

"Psimon's reign of terror is finally paused," Hearne sighed. "I cannot say I'm disappointed."

_* * *_

_**HEARNE KNEW THAT**_ this would not be the last they were seeing of Queen Bee. She had told them how outrageously foolish it would be for M'gann to shapeshift into Queen Bee to convince the public that this was Queen Bee's doing, yet they still did it.

She knew Robin understood, because he hadn't yet made eye contact with her since they arrived at the Logan Animal Sanctuary.

Bruce was on the television screen, shaking hands with Harjavti. Hearne wanted to scoff. What a heartbreaking bastard.

"And I assure you, the Wayne Foundation is here to do whatever it can to help you and your people rebuild Qurac."

Marie turned the television off as Bruce shook Harjavti's hand, clearly no longer interested in the politics of the situation.

"Gee," Wally mused, "Bruce Wayne sure got here fast. Almost like he knew--"

Robin sharply elbowed him in the chest as he rested his arms behind his head. "Don't you have a souvenir to collect or something?"

Hearne didn't try to bite back her smile.

"Hello, Megan!" Wally said, lightly hitting himself on the side of the head. He sped over to the television stand and grabbed the _Hello, Megan!_ pilot episode tape. With one hand on his hip, he bent over and held it a foot from M'gann. "Something you'd like to tell us?"

Hearne rolled her eyes at Wally's playful tone, though her heart wasn't really in it.

M'gann sighed. "Growing up on Mars was not a happy time for me. But I started watching the broadcasts my uncle sent from Earth to teach us about our sister planet. And when I saw _Hello, Megan!_ something just clicked. Maybe it was the similarities in our names, maybe it was the way all Megan's problems could be solved in twenty-two minutes." 

M'gann looked towards Marie. "All I know for sure is that Megan helped me smile through a lonely childhood. So when I came to Earth, and had to adopt a human form . . . I chose you. Well, Megan."

Robin looked at Wally with wide eyes. "Which begs the question what do you really look like?"

Hearne felt something within her crack at the way he spoke. The utter _comforting_ in his voice, like he wanted her to come clean, but he didn't want to push her too far. It was . . . it was something Hearne wanted to hear a thousand times more.

M'gann stood, struggling to make eye contact with anyone as her hair vanished, leaving her bald, a slight resemblance to her uncle.

"Bald M'gann," Wally whispered, "still hot!"

Connor walked over to her, gently taking her hands in his. "You know you don't have to put on a mask for me."

M'gann stepped back, wrapping her arms around herself. "I do it for me. This is who I am, inside." She finally met Marie's eyes. "Please don't be mad."

"Mad?" Marie said, placing a hand over her own heart. "I'm honored. M'gann, you saved my son. He says you're his blood brother now. And I agree. You're family."

M'gann hesitantly walked forward to wrap Marie in a hug. " _Thank you._ You can't know what that means to me."

Marie smiled. "Of course."

The two whispered something to each other, and with a nod, M'gann walked down the hallway towards Garfield's room, no doubt to check on the boy.

Hearne tensed as Marie crouched down by her chair, expecting the woman to strike her across the face. Hesitantly, Hearne looked at her to see that the woman held no sign of that.

"I'm sorry," she said, "how I acted--I didn't mean the things I said. I was worried about Garfield, and I didn't understand why you wouldn't help him. I do now." Marie smiled softly. "I might not understand what you can do, but I saw it when you saved Garfield from the explosion. I think you saved him again by not listening to me, and I'm thankful for that."

"I--of course," Hearne said. "I didn't want Garfield to get hurt because of what I had done. I'm glad you understand."

As Marie left towards the kitchen, Wally gave her a thumbs up. "Way to go, dude! You're becoming a real people person."

Hearne frowned.

"Okay, that might be a stretch--but you didn't to the infamous Olympia Look of Displeasure. I call _that_ an improvement!"

Olympia . . . Look of Displeasure? 


	18. Forlorn Favor

**"THANKSGIVING IS AN AWFUL HOLIDAY.** And neither of us is American."

Athena shrugged as she stirred the potatoes. "I've only lived in America since I was two, and it's supposed to be a big celebration, about 'unification' or something. Really, I think it's just about people trying to make themselves feel good, or something like that."

Hearne frowned. "Why celebrate it if you don't believe in it?"

"But my parents celebrated it," Athena sighed, "and it feels wrong to not celebrate _something,_ even if it's not what everyone else is. So, what _do_ we celebrate?"

"What we're thankful for, because we have the pleasure of having things to be thankful for."

Athena smiled. " _Exactly._ Set the table, please? And remember--"

"'The placement of napkins and silverware does not matter, as long as they're not on the floor.'"

"Yep!"

_* * *_

**_HEARNE LIKED THE_** animals. They weren't quite like the ones she knew as a child, but they were close enough. She still remembered the first time she saw them, when she crawled out of bed in the dead of night to see how many there were, and if anything was hiding amongst them, because at nine-years-old, she couldn't sleep unless she knew the perimeter was safe.

That's when she met Rita. It was stupid, Hearne rationally knew thinking of a cow like a friend was stupid, but she did. Because Rita was old, she didn't do much and barely produced any milk, but there was something Hearne liked about her. She didn't know what, but every time she came home, she'd feed Rita, sit with her, and wait until the cow would push her away to leave.

Typically, once dairy cows were six years old, they were sent off to slaughter. Athena didn't do that with Rita, she didn't complain about the costs it took to feed her and the little amount she got in return, or the more-frequent medical bills, she simply let Hearne enjoy having the only slightly normal thing she ever had.

However, this was the one time she wished Rita didn't exist.

"You haven't even gone to her stall once since you've been back," Athena pointed out, pointing her fork towards Hearne. "I fed you, now you talk, it's the basic granny rules."

Hearne blinked in confusion and Athena bit her lip to hold back a smile. "Right, forgot that you don't understand most references. Well . . . a lot of grandmothers have this rule. A lot love to cook, for some reason, mostly because they had a lot more kids than people usually did, and back then they had to do _everything,_ but--basically, if something was wrong, they just knew, sometimes before you even did. They'd make you some food, sit you down, and you had no choice but to talk."

"My grandmother broke my arm." Hearne didn't notice Athena's slightly horrified look, only shrugging. "I didn't want to visit Rita, it . . . didn't feel like the time."

"What do you mean, 'didn't feel like the time'?"

Hearne sat her fork down onto her napkin, folding her hands in a way that made her look much older, and much more sophisticated. "I've been . . . _blushing_ recently."

Athena laughed before quickly covering her mouth. "Sorry, _sorry,_ that's not funny. Not funny." She laughed again, making Hearne frown, and Athena straightened herself out. "Okay, no more laughing, I promise. But what do you mean blushing? Have you never done that before?"

"No," Hearne gasped softly, her eyebrows pinching together, "of course not!"

"So, you've _never_ blushed?" Athena ventured. "Never when you've been ashamed, or embarrassed, or anything?"

"We were taught not to feel those things," Hearne sighed. "They told us it would make us weak, vulnerable to enemies. No one wants an emotional warrior." She pointed a finger at Athena. "Do not start with the therapy session, I was only stating facts."

Athena shrugged. "Alright, alright, I won't. But seriously, if you've apparently never done it before, something's making you do it."

"Kaldur," Hearne stated matter-of-factly. "Sometimes, he makes me do it, and I can't understand why--there isn't a reason, a set point in time, or anything of the sort. Maybe--"

"Hearne," Athena said, dipping her head slightly to get her words across, "c'mon, don't beat around the bush."

"I'm not, I only--"

"Kaldur makes you blush," Athena repeated, slowly this time. "I know you're new to emotions, and they're something you still need to explore, but even you're not this new to them. I know you've read romance books, you stole some of mine."

Hearne looked at her hands. "Maybe I have stolen some, but they were awful, no meaningful plot except kissing and emotions."

"Hearne, you have a crush on Kaldur."

"I--I do not!" Hearne shook her head, eyebrows pinched together. "That's--that is absurd! He's my teammate, and leader--"

"And you blush whenever he does certain things." Athena quirked an eyebrow. "Am I wrong?"

"No . . ." Hearne frowned. "I--no, I don't like him. I-I couldn't."

"Hearne, you're capable of emotions," Athena said. "You're capable of love, of liking, of everything. I can't imagine how hard it is for you to let all of it out, but it's in there, you just gotta let it through."

"But . . . what does it mean?" she asked, feeling at a loss for words. "If I--hypothetically, of course--liked Kaldur as you say, what would that mean?"

"It would mean you need to figure out what to do about it," Athena explained with a small smile. "It's up to you. Liking someone is hard, and figuring out what to do about it is even harder. You can tell him, or think about it for a bit, or tell someone, like Artemis, or keep it to yourself--but, Hearne, don't do that."

She twiddled with her thumbs. "That sounds like a good option."

"It isn't. I know you don't have any experience with this type of stuff outside of media and all of that, but keeping it to yourself isn't as great as it seems. It just sits there and builds, and then you hate that you kept it to yourself, because eventually it's too late to say anything, and your heart ends up broken."

"I'd never allow him to break my heart," Hearne said. "That would be foolish. Keeping it to myself would . . . it would be wise. That way it wouldn't effect the team. If Kaldur knew, it would create tension, and interfere with our missions."

"You don't think he could like you?"

"I never said that." She bit her tongue. "But it's unlikely. I'm not his 'type.'"

"Don't put yourself down, Hearne, you never know."

"I would know, reading people is my specialty, remember?" She sighed. "Even if he did, nothing would come of it. Things never work in my favor."

It was silent after that, only the sound of forks and knives scraping against ceramic plates, even though Hearne had long ago lost her appetite. She didn't know how to feel. It made sense, it fit like the missing piece of a puzzle, yet she wished it didn't.

Because if it did, and Athena was right, Hearne had ruined the team.


	19. No Longer

**HEARNE LOOKED AT KALDUR, WHO DISCREETLY TRIED TO AVOID EYE CONTACT.** When the two of them had time alone, she was going to make him wish he had never came to the Cave that morning.

 _Red Arrow_ was joining the team. Green Arrow and Red Tornado had explained it, that he was going to briefly join, and if he could work well with them, he would become part of the Justice League. Hearne wondered who the hell thought that was a good idea, but she didn't voice it.

_Recognized Artemis, B07._

Hearne cringed, she knew this wouldn't go well.

"Artemis," Green Arrow greeted, "just in time. Look who's agreed to join the Team."

"Finally!" Wally cheered, and Hearne wished he hadn't. Did he understand _nothing?_

"Sure," Artemis said, "Team's needed a _real_ archer."

When Wally's eyes widened slightly, Hearne gave him a pointed look, which he tried to ignore. Sometimes she wondered if his common sense had rotted under all of his smarts.

"Okay, people," Green Arrow said, oblivious to the tension in the room, "listen up." He walked over to the holographic keyboard and began to type. "The Dynamic Duo's on a case in Gotham but Batman gave me a heads up. Sportsmaster was spotted coming through Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport."

"In full costume?" Zatanna said. "Nervy."

"In street clothes," Green Arrow clarified. "Facial recognition software picked up the ID. Find out what he's up to."

Hearne quickly memorized the photos, scanning the pictures for anything of importance. Whatever it was, he'd likely be working with Cheshire, his daughter. For a brief period of time, Hearne had forgotten that Artemis was Sportsmaster's other daughter, and she felt a small ping of guilt for discovering that months ago.

"All of us?" Connor said, gesturing to the wide array of people in the room. "Seems like overkill for a shadow job."

"Perhaps a small squad," Red Tornado agreed. "Miss Martian's camouflage abilities seem ideal."

"Thought the sidekicks"--Green Arrow winced--"sorry, ex-sidekicks could suit up on this. Aqualad, Kid Flash, Red Arrow."

Great. She had been called in for nothing other than to be informed that Red Arrow was joining the Team. 

"Good," Connor said as he crossed his arms, "stakeouts make me crazy."

"We could use the night off," M'gann pointed out.

"I want it," Artemis abruptly said, her eyes set on her mentor. "With M'gann and Robin out, no one's logged more hours piloting the Bioship."

"Aremis, are you sure?" Green Arrow asked.

"Absolutely." 

Hearne knew this wouldn't turn out well, especially for Artemis, but there was no way to talk her out of it. The one thing that Artemis could always be was _stubborn._

_* * *_

_**CONNOR, M'GANN, AND** _Zatanna were investigating Red Tornado's apartment. Hearne had refused, the idea of invading his privacy without a proper reason other than boredom and curiosity making her thoroughly uncomfortable.

Hearne's lips pursed as she looked down towards her suit that lay on the medical table. It didn't seem like the right one anymore. Rationally, she knew that it still fit, and that it had only been several months, but the idea of branding herself with that suit no longer seemed right. Thankfully, she had been taught how to sew properly when she was young, and the lack of hood on the suit didn't make any difference, it was as if it had never been there.

Then there was the mask. At first, she had done it for safety. To keep herself hidden. But her tattoos were covered up, and above that, she used her powers regularly on missions. She didn't doubt they knew that somehow she'd survived the bombing, but they didn't know who. Because when everyone died, she was nine, and now she was fourteen. There were hundreds of them.

Hearne was nothing but another face in the crowd.

The mask went away, just like the hood, tucked into a drawer with the other supplies. One day, it might be useful, for someone who needed another mask. But Hearne didn't need one, not anymore.

There was no point in hiding, not with The Light presenting itself and making moves in the world. If their murderers didn't already know a halfling was alive, they were going to soon. The darkness could only hide in plain sight for so long before someone realized its true nature.

Hearne was foolish enough to wish for more time before that happened. More time with Athena before she had to take the weight of her species on her shoulders, more time with _Kaldur_ \--

Her nose scrunched at the thought, and she tried her best to ignore it. But it was impossible. Ever since Athena had made her face the truth of the situation with him, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Naively, she wondered if _maybe_ it wouldn't go awfully. What if it went fine? For a short amount of time, it was good, and right?

With a scowl, she realized that would most likely never happen. Kaldur had his choosing of anyone from nearly anywhere, he was _Aqualad_. Why would he choose the one who had repeatedly proven that she didn't trust them like they trusted her, the one that repeatedly lied to them? Over all, she couldn't help but wonder: why would anyone choose her?

This wasn't the thing she expected out of this. Looking back only a few months, she could hardly recognize herself. Whatever this was--whatever this _team_ was--it made her feel like she was normal. 

Hearne liked to feel normal.

_* * *_

**_"SHOULD YOU BE_** asleep?"

"Probably," Hearne sighed, "but I'm not. I was waiting for the mission to end."

Kaldur sat down beside her, his back against the wall a mere foot from her. "Lies."

She blinked. " _Excuse me?_ "

"Your knuckles," he said, looking towards them, "they are bloody. You come here when you cannot find sleep."

"...Perhaps."

"Do you mind if I keep you company?"

Hearne stared forward. "If I said no, would you listen?" She smiled when he didn't answer. If it was anyone else, it would have annoyed her, even if it was only to a small degree. But with Kaldur, it was casual. His presence was comforting and calm, like a gentle sea breeze. 

"How did the mission go?"

"We discovered that the villains are working together," he answered. "You were right, I should have investigated sooner."

"You shouldn't have." Hearne bit her lip as she turned to face him. "These people--the partners--they are dangerous. Investigating them would not be a wise choice. It is better to avoid unless you are ready to face them fully."

"How do you know this?" he asked. "You know more of these people than any of us--than any of the Justice League. How?"

She bit her tongue, mulling over everything in her head, trying to decide what the best course of action was. She wanted to tell Kaldur things, but she knew they could get him hurt. Not telling him would hurt him, too.

"My family valued The Light," she finally explained. "They had been intertwined with it since it was formed. We served them, but we also were stronger than them, in our own right. Too strong. When I was young, I grew up with these people. That's how I know more. Because I used to be these people."

"No longer?"

"No longer." She sighed. "I understand if you wish to not speak with me--"

Kaldur took her hand in his, gently, and she found herself wishing he would do more. "You are brave for telling me this. I would never shun you for what your family did. You are not them."

"Thank you, Kaldur."


	20. You're Different

**"I HATE THIS."**

Kaldur glanced at her, unimpressed. "We both know why we cannot go."

"I understand why. The Team is going undercover as siblings in the circus, and neither of us would fit in for obvious reasons." She frowned as she glanced at him. "But what if they need us?"

"If they need us, they will let us know. Two people who look nothing like them would not fit the cover."

It wasn't Hearne's fault she wasn't white (or, in M'gann's case, a shape-shifter.) Sitting there while they were on a mission made her feel helpless, especially as things were starting to come to a head. At any moment, things would boil over, and Hearne would never forgive herself if something happened to them because she wasn't there.

"What are we supposed to do? Wally's at school, and we already finished ours." Hearne sighed. "I can't believe I am going to say this, but I don't think I can keep going to the gym. If I go for a fourth time today, I might just die."

Kaldur laughed. A small, controlled laugh, and Hearne wished he didn't always try to stop himself. "I thought you said that it helped you focus?"

"Which I don't want to do," Hearne said with a point of her fingers. "I simply want to avoid what we can't control at the moment. Wouldn't you?"

"That would be nice, I suppose."

Hearne looked down to her hands, defeated. "I have no other way to do that but the gymnasium."

"Nothing else?" Kaldur questioned, a small flick of humor in his tone. "Do you only go to the gym?"

"Well," she said, "do you like music?"

_* * *_

**_HEARNE DIDN'T KNOW_** how to explain this feeling. It was light, consuming, like a heavy rock pressing down on her chest, demanding her to feel it. It was suffocating, yet she found herself wishing for more, with the same fascination she held as a small child when she ran through the jungle, barefoot and wild.

This feeling made her feel young and wild, in a way she'd only felt when she was one with the trees hanging high above her, and she wanted to feel it forever. She wanted to feel like she was _alive_ forever.

She was always acutely aware of her surroundings, it was impossible of her to not be. But this was different. It felt like her heart had moved to the crook of her arm, exactly where Kaldur's shoulder touched, beating impossibly warm, making her skin flush with heat. Despite the loud beating of music in the room, soft and melodic, she could hear the sound of his heart beat, one thump after the other, paced just so, as if it was a soldier, too.

It was suffocating, and she would gladly go down with it, even if she wasn't supposed to. If this was her downfall, she would take it with a quick-beating heart and a smile on her face.

"This is nice," Kaldur said, and she could pick out his words over the music, "it is relaxing."

"I know. That's why I do it."

The song reached its end with a strum of a ukulele string, stretching off into silence as the next started to begin. It was eerily silent, and a small part of Hearne was squirming at it. She did her best to ignore that part.

"You're different."

She glanced at him, slightly defensive. "How so?"

"You understand things we cannot. You have, since we first met. I thought it made you dangerous, a wild card that was untrustworthy." Hearne's breath hitched silently. "But it does not. It makes you smart, and strong. And I do not think you know that."

The music began to play, much softer than before, and she wished it was louder, that way she could avoid the conversation. But it wasn't, and he could hear her perfectly. 

"Kaldur," she sighed, propping herself up on her elbow, "I know you do not understand yet, but--" He propped himself up on his own elbow to face her, and she found herself unable to finish her sentence. She'd memorized his face on pure instinct, but it felt different this time, and she couldn't force the words out of her mouth, so she chose new ones. "Thank you."

"I cannot understand," he acknowledged, "and I do not think it is my place to. We can never truly understand the things we have not experienced, and I know I have not experienced what you have. But I know that despite it, you became the person you desired instead of the one they did."

Hearne's eyes widened slightly, her lip twitching as her eyes involuntarily filled with tears. "I--do you think so?"

"You spoke against The Light. Would they have done so?"

She shut her eyes tightly and nodded. "Thank you, Kaldur. I needed to hear that."

There were many things that Hearne needed to hear, but her not being the monster she was meant to be was one she never thought she would hear. Somehow, Kaldur always knew what needed to be said. 

Hearne opened her eyes, and she was shocked by the sudden instinct to kiss him. She never would have thought about that months before, but at the moment, it was all she could think about. They stared at each other for an unknown amount of time, and Hearne wondered what it would feel like to kiss him, if he would still be playing the role of a soldier, or if he would let it fall for a moment.

She moved forward, her heart beating too-fast in her chest, and despite everything in her screaming that it was an awful decision, she still did. Kaldur could never like her, but she had to know, even if it ruined everything.

"Hey, guys!"

They scrambled apart, eyes wide, to see a shocked Wally standing at the entrance to the living room. His eyes were wide, hands stilled in the air, as if he'd seen something he wasn't supposed to.

"Uh--um, I'll just--"

With a hitch of his thumb over his shoulder, he sped away, down the hall, out of sight. Hearne glanced to Kaldur, waiting for him to say he knew what she was doing, and tell her how awful she was, and how disgusting it was that she would suggest that.

But he didn't. Instead, he smiled--a small smile, the typical for him--and shrugged.

Hearne smiled to herself, a feeling of warmth flooding her cheeks. She had a feeling that this peace wouldn't last, that it was meant to end, but she didn't focus on that.

If she only had moments, she would gladly have those moments.


	21. Burned and Buried

**HEARNE HAD A FEELING, DEEP IN HER BONES, LIKE THEY WERE RIGHT ON THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.** For most on The Team, it was because tomorrow was Christmas, but she had never once celebrated the holiday, and neither did Athena. It intensified as she watched the live broadcast of the five newest League members being inducted, and she knew what it was. Athena had nicknamed it the "Fowler Feel," which Hearne supposed was right, but it was more of an instinct than anything.

The instinct that something was going to happen, or the instinct that someone was going to die. She hoped it wasn't the latter.

"I'm glad they didn't kick Billy out," Wally said as he noisily bit into an apple. "And I love the fact that there's a ten-year-old on the league."

"There is?" Raquel gasped, right as Robin elbowed Wally square in the rib.

"Way to keep a secret, genius."

"Hey," Wally muttered, rubbing at his side with his free hand, "she's on the Team now, right?"

Raquel was Icon's partner (or sidekick, that was part was unclear), one of the new members of the Justice League. Her powers were promising, definitely on the stronger side, but she still had much to develop in terms of raw power and skill. Hearne made a mental note to keep an eye on her. She didn't believe that Raquel could be the mole, but she wasn't sure of anything yet.

"You know," Raquel said as Icon was inducted, "I was the one who convinced Icon to become a hero in the first place. I should be outside celebrating with him, not hidden away in here."

"Welcome to our world," Kaldur greeted.

"Well," she mused, "I suppose there's an upside, too."

Hearne's eyes widened slightly, but she quickly wiped it away. If Kaldur happened to be interested in Raquel, that would be fine by her. Perfectly fine. 

Green Arrow and Red Arrow shook hands, and Hearne thought that for the first time since she had met Roy, he looked secure in himself. As if he'd finally gotten the thing he was always meant to achieve.

"Way to go, Roy!" Wally cheered.

The three originals--Kaldur, Wally, and Robin--began to talk amongst themselves while Hearne stared at the screen. The instinct wasn't subsiding, it only coiled deep in her bones, like a cold stone settled deep within her. What was it? What would go wrong, or who could die?

"Wait," Raquel interjected, catching her attention, "since when is being a sidekick a bad thing? You sidekicks were my inspiration."

"Well, see, six months ago, it--" Before Robin could finish explaining, his watch beeped, a small, unreadable holographic screen appearing before he smirked. "Time to go."

Hearne crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly, and with a wince, he realized he hadn't said anything else. "Oh, right. I got us a mission."

Raquel's eyebrows rose. "A mission? From who? Batman's still out there, so--"

"Who cares!" Wally exclaimed, now void of his apple. "It's a mission! I, for one, say we should go."

Kaldur looked hesitant, but gave a small shrug despite it. Artemis and Zatanna sighed, but nonetheless agreed to it, Zatanna seeming much more excited than the blonde. M'gann and Connor were undoubtedly in, they were always ready for a mission, even if they didn't know what it held.

"Alright, I'll go," Raquel said, "but if we get in trouble with the League, I'm making it clear this wasn't my idea."

Everyone turned to stare at Hearne and she frowned. "Why am I the decision maker?"

"Because you're the voice of reason," Wally said, " _duh._ "

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "Fine. But if this goes wrong, we handle it properly. Understood?"

"We do this all the time! We've practically got this in the bag."

_* * *_

_**"A-ARE YOU SURE**_ it's her?" Artemis asked. "I mean, are you absolutely positive?"

"See for yourself," Robin responded, pulling up a holographic screen towards the front of the Bioship. A video of a plane and a woman walking aboard appeared, no doubt Chesire. "This is the security footage from the Ashfield Regional Airport. Facial recognition confirms this is Jade Nguyen. But you've seen her without her mask. What do you think?"

"It's Jade," Artemis grimly said. "It's Chesire."

The Team didn't know who Artemis' family was yet, and Hearne hoped they wouldn't find out. Artemis didn't want them to, it was clear she hated that part of herself. But if Hearne knew anything, Robin had most likely already figured it out.

"Agreed." Kaldur looked toward the screen. "But focus on what she carries." The screen lengthened to show the brief-like case in Chesire's hands. "Is that the case you saw in New Orleans? The one that got away?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Raquel interrupted, "I'm guessing from the mugshot that this _Chesire's_ the bag guy. But what's so important about that case?"

The screen switched to show the Injustice League.

"Remember the Injustice League?" Robin asked.

"And their giant evil plants? Uh, _yeah._ "

"The Team and the League put them in prison," Kaldur said, "but their allies still scheme. And whatever is in that containment case seems important to their plans."

"We had a chance to grab it in New Orleans," Wally shaded, "but _someone_ screwed up."

Hearne's lips pursed together tightly. "This isn't Artemis' fault. Even if she didn't do what she had done, you still would have never gotten the case." She crossed her arms at Wally's scowl. "Or do you have some abilities that I don't know of? Because none of us can beat Klarion, who no doubt would have used all of his power to protect the case."

"Still--"

"Approaching Chesire's jet," M'gann said, effectively severing the conversation. Hearne kept her face blank as they loomed over the wreckage of the jet, cracked and crumbled, still smoking in the cold air. "Looks like there were no survivors."

"We can't be sure of anything," Hearne stated. "Do not get comfortable because of a wreckage. She could still easily be alive."

Robin nodded. "Olympia's right. We don't know if Chesire or any of the other people on board died. Keep an eye out."

They filed out of the Bioship, dropping through the air towards the ground, darkness beneath Hearne's feet as she rolled to a kneeling position on the snow-covered ground. It was rocky, and her feet slipped several times over the wet rocks. For a brief moment, she thought of the compound, and how when it rained, the stone walkway became dangerously slick.

She pushed the memory away. That time was over, there was no use in thinking of it.

Even as she looked around, she couldn't find anything. Not a single body. No pilot, no Chesire, none of the other people that should have been on the plane.

"How come homeland security and NTSB aren't all over this?" Wally asked.

"Cheshire's ID was a League alert," Robin answered. "Authorities didn't pick it up, and her jet didn't follow its flight plan. It flew under the radar. _Literally._ But the Watchtower auto-tracked the jet, and recorded the crash."

"Then why isn't the _League_ here?" Raquel asked, toying with a piece of broken-off metal.

Zatanna smiled. "Because our Boy Wonder has some mighty hacking skills and arranged to get the alert first."

"And because Cheshire and that case represent _our_ unfinished business."

Hearne nodded at Kaldur's words. "Correct. But there's one issue: there's no bodies." She sighed. "We've been tricked, I would suggest you prepare for a fight."

Raquel went to say something, but was quickly cut off from an all-too-familiar voice. "Looking for me?"

Artemis relaxed slightly at the sight of her sister not being dead, and a part of Hearne ached miserably. For the first time in months, she thought about her sister, and wished she could know what that relief felt like.

"I am flora, but no fauna. I am foliage, not trees. What am I?"

Hearne's muscles coiled tightly in defense, her eyes quickly scanning the ridge. Dozens of people, all dressed in white stealth suits, with Apokoliptan weapons of various sorts. The Riddler and Mammoth stood on the uppermost part of the ridge, smiling as if they had won the greatest prize.

With a snap of his fingers, metal posts that Hearne horrifyingly realized were the same from where Wolf came from sprang up all around the ridge. _They were trapped._

With a glow of green, the posts crackled to life, forming a dome and effectively caging them in the chasm. This could go one of two ways, and Hearne would be damned if it was the one not in her favor.

"Hey, come on," Riddler groaned, "you can get this. I am shrubbery, not grass. What am I? I . . ."

"Ambush."

Riddler smiled as Robin guessed his riddle. "Didn't you think we'd be tipped you were on Cheshire's trail? We're tired of your interference, kiddies. This is the end game. Ordered from above and executed from their master strategist, _moi_."

Hearne's lips curled into a predatory smirk. "Actually, I was planning on it. Tell the man in charge he missed one!"

 _Miss Martian,_ Kaldur said, _is everyone linked?_

_Yes._

_Go._

Hearne burst forward, darkness propelling her forward as she pushed her knee directly into the middle of Riddler's chest. He gasped, attempting to pull it off, but it was no use. He was too weak, and she was far too strong.

He desperately hit her thigh, trying to rasp a breath through his collapsing lungs. "W-Who even are you?"

Snow whipped at her back, a dangerous blizzard storm that had come out of nowhere (perhaps Zatanna).

"Long live the Fowler Empire."

Her instincts said to snap his neck, but she instead brought her hand down onto his temple and allowed the darkness to flow through her fingertips. With a scream, he collapsed against the ground, helplessly unconscious. 

With a huff of confusing frustration, Hearne flew into the air, beams of darkness finding their way to the soldiers, knocking most unconscious, while her foot found the others' heads.

Everything blurred together, a newfound rage pushing her forward, fueling her to continue until none were left standing.

_SB, you're flying!_

That snapped her out of her violent haze, and with wide eyes, she turned to see Connor flying through the air, laser beams shooting from his eyes as he threw Mammoth to the ground. She watched in shock as he quickly punched Mammoth in the stomach, barely milliseconds apart, and part of the ridge started to slide from the impact.

 _Superboy,_ she yelled, _stop!_

As the ridge began to fall, Hearne's arms shot out, just barely catching the ridge. Her arms quickly began to ache from the tons of rock she was holding back by the darkness. She could only do this for so long.

 _Everyone, away from the ridge,_ she ordered, _when this falls, everything below it dies._

Once everyone was out of the way, Hearne felt her muscles relax when the ridge began to finally fall, a wave of dust and dirt shooting past her face and up into the air. She let out a breathe she'd kept tightly in her chest, suddenly thankful that she'd been able to catch it in time.

The storm slowed to a stop, the snow ceasing, and Hearne agreed that Zatanna had summoned it.

With a crack of her knuckles, she landed down on the ground beside the team.

"Uh," Wally panted, holding his side, "is no one gonna talk about the 'missed one' thing?"

Hearne's eyes widened slightly. "It was just a joke. To get inside their heads."

" _Riight_."

_* * *_

**_"TELL ME IF_** this sounds familiar." Hearne winced at Batman's tone. "You hacked League systems, disobeyed protocol, and endangered your lives. And your initiative resulted in the capture of three escaped felons, proving Warden Strange runs Belrev as a cover for criminal activity."

If he told Athena, Hearne was going to be in trouble. Athena would have her head for doing this when it was so close to the Fowlers.

"Well done." Hearne's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but she toned it down. "And then there's this." Batman walked towards the case. "Biotechnology integrated with some form of nano-circuitry."

Hearne had never seen anything like it. Small, angularly shaped organisms with technology integrated into them. She was entirely unfamiliar with it.

"Though I am unfamiliar with this species," Icon said, picking one of the things up, "the bio component is clearly not of Earth."

Batman nodded and closed the case. "We'll take it to the Watchtower for further study."

As they began to leave, Rocket ran over to Icon, and Hearne turned to Kaldur. "You know what this is."

He nodded. "Yes, I do."

The League members disappeared through the Zeta-Beams, leaving only The Team, which Hearne couldn't help but feel was worse.

"You realize we were set up," Robin pointed out.

"Yes," Kaldur agreed. "Cheshire and Riddler were tipped and ready for us."

Artemis groaned. "Not the mole thing _again._ "

"Mole thing?" Rocket repeated. "Again?"

"We had intel that there was a traitor on the team," Wally explained.

"Mainly Artemis, M'gann, Olympia, or me."

Kaldur put a hand on Connor's shoulder. "It is more complicated than that." Connor shoved his arm off and began to walk away towards the dorms. "But your recent behavior does concern me. Your attack on Mammoth nearly got Artemis killed. Had Olympia not been there, we would have one less member."

Suddenly, Connor stopped and hunched over as he brought a hand to his head. Hearne's hand went to her belt, hand on the hilt of her dagger as she waited.

"Superboy?" she said. "Are you alright?"

"There's something I need to do." He took a deep breath. "Something I need to tell you. Last month, on Thanksgiving, I went back to Cadmus and found a few things out. When I was cloned, only half the DNA was Superman's. The other half was human. That's why I don't have--will _never_ have--full Kryptonian powers."

"You sure?" Robin said with a small smile. "'Cause you sure seemed to have them today."

"I've been using these." Connor rolled up his sleeve to reveal a black object stuck to his skin in the shape of Superman's symbol. "Shields. They suppress my human DNA. I get the flight, heat vision, but I think I also get angry. Well, _angrier._ " He looked ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry."

"Where did you get those?" Kaldur asked.

"From my human father, Lex Luthor."

Hearne couldn't say she was surprised. It made sense, and she already suspected something was wrong with his DNA. Still, it was a surprise.

"Lex Luthor . . . is your _dad?_ " Robin sputtered.

"He summoned me to Santa Prisca."

"Ahh, listen." _Artemis_ was revealing herself too? "Superboy's not the only one suffering from bad DNA." With a sigh, she walked over to the holographic screen and began to type, her family quickly appearing on the screen. "My mother is Huntress, an ex-con. The rest of my family aren't even ex."

She bit her lip nervously. "My dad's _Sportsmaster._ And he's sending my sister, Cheshire, to fly me to Santa Prisca, too."

"That's why--"

"Yeah," Artemis said, cutting Wally off. "I was so desperate to make sure none of you found out."

"I knew." Artemis' eyes widened at Robin's confession. "Hey, I'm a detective. But it never mattered. You aren't your family. You're one of us."

Wally nodded. "Always." He made his way forward and gently laid a hand on Artemis' shoulder. "So, uh, who's next?"

"I am."

Wally's eyes widened and he held his hands up in surrender. "I swear I was kidding."

"Queen Bee's been blackmailing me," M'gann said softly, wrapping her arms around herself. "She wants me in Santa Prisca, too."

"Blackmailing?" Kaldur said. "How?"

"She knows my _true_ Martian form."

"Bald M'gann?" Robin said. "Who cares if--"

"No."

With a sigh, M'gann began to morph into another form, her body contorting into a much larger figure. Finally, it ended, and everyone aside from Hearne, Kaldur, and Connor took a step back. 

M'gann was a White Martian.

 _I realized you would never accept me if you saw what I really am,_ M'gann admitted, her arms once again wrapped around herself.

"M'gann," Kaldur said, "did we truly seem so shallow?"

 _I couldn't take a chance,_ she whispered tearfully. _Being a White Martian among the Green on Mars I endured constant rejection. I couldn't face that from--_

"From me?" Connor asked as he took her hand in his his. _I've known since we mind melded last September at Bialyia._

_But that was before we even became a couple. Why didn't you say anything?_

_I figured you'd tell me when you were ready._

Hearne's breath hitched as M'gann shifted back to her Earth form and embraced Connor. This was her moment to say something. Things were advancing, and the feeling that something would go awfully wrong would ring true if she didn't say anything. As much as it terrified her to tell them--especially Kaldur--she had to.

"I need to tell all of you something."

Kaldur looked shocked, but she continued anyway. 

"I know some of you have heard it during missions, it's happened several times, and I know you don't know what it means. But I'm a halfling." She took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm. "Half god, half human, but not descended from the gods themselves. The story behind it is long, and we lack the time for it."

"A demigod?" Wally guessed. "Like Wonder Woman?"

"No, it--it is more complicated than that." Hearne sighed. "My ancestor, thousands of years ago, was burned by someone who held a grudge against him. He was going to die a miserable, brutal death, but Hades took pity on him and blessed him. Amadeus came back to life, whole and new, and when he had children, they had gifts. Stronger, faster, smarter. They realized that if they branded themselves with the marks of the gods, they became powerful."

They all looked slightly horrified.

"I know," she whispered. "And this is not the worst part. My family was--they were not the family you would want to have. They were cold and venomous, every nurturing instinct forced out of them by the time they had children to create better warriors. Because of how inhuman they'd become, they were too powerful. They barely cared for anything, or anyone, and their powers were growing too great. So someone we trusted made sure that they could never grow anymore."

Hearne bit her lip anxiously, wishing this could finally be over. "They killed us, everyone, even the newborns. I was out in the jungle, searching for a knife that Davina had taken from me when the bombs fell. I hid--I hid for _days_. They combed through the jungle, searching for any survivors, and I hid. I don't know if anyone survived, but by the time I got back to the compound, everyone had been dead for days."

"Olympia," Artemis tried, "that's--"

"It's fine," she shrugged, "it happened almost five years ago. I've--I've gotten over it. The moral of this story was that I've been keeping it from you for your safety, for mine, and for everyone's we know. But I have realized there is no point in hiding anymore. My family's murderer knows one of us is alive, and soon, we'll face him."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked. "Did they ask you to Santa Prisca too?"

"No, but he's been orchestrating everything we have faced so far. They know one of us escaped, and they will not be pleased."

"We'll protect you," Zatanna said with a nod. "We won't let him touch you."

Hearne didn't say anything, she knew arguing would be futile. Because the truth was that if Vandal Savage wanted her dead, she would die, whether or not anyone tried to stop it.


	22. Whatever It Takes

**HEARNE HAD THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ABOUT THE RECENT EVENTS.** Mere hours after she told the team the secret that had been slowly aiding her spiral for the past five years, they went to Santa Prisca and ambushed Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Bane, and several of their other affiliates. It resulted in the capture of Sportsmaster and BlockBuster (otherwise known as Dr. Desmond), yet it still didn't ease the feeling deep in her bones. The team had seemingly been fine with what she said, though things had been slightly tense, and they had caught two criminals. 

Thoughts flew around her mind, as fast and as sharp as razor blades, and the constant chatter in her brain was becoming deafening. She wanted to voice her concerns, the ones she _knew_ might be true, but she couldn't make the words come out of her mouth. Even though the team assured her that they understood, and it didn't change a thing, she felt as if saying it would cause them to finally realize what a monster she was.

But it was fine. Things had settled, at least for the time being, and she had time to think. She was showered, her suit was patched from a recent hole in the side, and she had a few hours of rest, something she rarely got the pleasure of having. Even if that feeling was still there, she felt slightly better than she had in months. 

"We have reason to feel proud of yesterday's victories," Kaldur said. "But one thing has not changed."

"Somehow the bad guys are still getting inside intel about us," Robin agreed.

"Yeah," Wally shrugged, "but at least we know none of us are the mole."

"That's correct," Batman said as they entered the room, and Hearne had a feeling this wasn't going well. "The mole was Red Arrow."

Hearne's eyes widened. _Red Arrow?_ That was impossible. She didn't know Roy as well as the others did, but she knew he wouldn't do this. But quickly, she reprimanded herself and toned down her expression. The mole could easily be anyone, especially Red Arrow. She shouldn't think it was unlikely.

Yet, as a gut instinct, she knew it didn't make sense. It didn't feel right.

The team began to protest, exclaiming that it wasn't possible, but Red Tornado stopped the outbursts. "Unfortunately, the Roy Harper we have known for the last three years is another 'Project Cadmus' clone."

A _clone_. Red Arrow was a _clone_.

"We've learned the real Speedy was abducted and replaced immediately after becoming Green Arrow's sidekick," Batman explained grimly. "The clone was pre-programmed with a drive to join the Justice League, which is why he was so angry over any delays to his admission and why he refused to join the Team. This Roy Harper had no idea he was a clone or a traitor. And his subconscious programming drove him to become League worthy."

It made sense. Hearne didn't want to believe it, but it made sense. She'd seen brainwashing before, and if he hadn't known who--or _what_ \--he was, he could be the perfect mole.

"So he struck out on his own as Red Arrow," Batman continued. "When he was finally admitted his secondary programming kicked in and he attempted to betray the League to Vandal Savage." Hearne couldn't breathe. "Fortunately, I had already deduced Red Arrow was a clone. We were prepared."

"Savage was subdued," Red Tornado said, "but Red Arrow escaped. He is now a fugitive, armed and dangerous."

Hearne's posture went rigid. Savage was smart. The League was powerful, and capable, but he would never be captured. He was much too smart for that.

Connor rubbed his neck self-consciously. "If you guys hadn't rescued me from Cadmus . . ."

"What--what happened to the real Roy?" Robin asked.

"We don't know," Batman answered. "He isn't at Cadmus. We have to face the possibility that the real Roy Harper is dead."

Everyone deflated, but Kaldur still stood strong, like the soldier he made himself be. "The clone Roy, The Team will find him."

"Negative," Batman said, "Red Arrow's a member of the Justice League now. Leave him to us." He ducked his head slightly and held a finger to the comm in his ear. "I'm needed on the Watchtower. Tornado, stay with the kids."

She expected him to leave without a word, as he always did, but he met her eyes and spoke. "Hearne, can I speak with you?"

It felt like someone had collapsed her lung.

"Can I have time to think about Red Arrow?" she said, slipping into old habits of false smiles. "Or is it important?"

His eyes narrowed. "It's important."

 _Team,_ she said, _whatever happens, stay out of the way._

"Alright."

The Team was finally realizing what was happening as Hearne slipped away into the hallway with Batman. They had never heard her name, so how did Batman know it?

"What did you want to speak about?"

Batman's face was blank, almost as if no one was home behind the cowl. "We believe that you might be of help in finding out Savage's secrets."

Her heart was beating a thousand miles an hour in her chest. "I don't . . . why would you need me to speak with Savage? I've never met him before."

"Savage wants you at the Watchtower."

The air was thick as the seconds ticked past, both of them staring at the other, and Hearne prayed to the gods to help her. If she had been trained fully by the empire, she could take Batman down with ease. But she only had nine years of training--and he had Savage's orders.

He lunged forward and Hearne rolled to the side as he crashed shoulder-first into the wall.

"Batman," she said, gripping her dagger tightly, "do not make me do this. Whatever Savage is doing to you, you can break free. Do not let this be what people remember of you."

As if the words were nothing, he lunged forward again, but as Hearne went to duck under his arm, he yanked her back by her hair. She gasped, kicking desperately as her dagger fell to the ground. She didn't want to do this, Athena would be upset, she'd be a monster, she--

Darkness swirled around Batman with a fury she didn't know she held, wrapping him so tightly his body convulsed.

Hearne fell to her knees, a migraine forming as she got to her feet. Before she could give the final blow that would knock him unconscious, a Batarang shot out of the darkness. Her eyes widened as she stumbled, hands going to her stomach, desperately trying to stop the flow of blood.

The darkness intensified and Batman screamed in pain as he shook, his body involuntarily shaking with the force of raw darkness. Hearne clenched her jaw as she stumbled into the wall, her eyes shut tightly as the darkness receded and Batman slumped to the ground.

 _He's down,_ she gasped, _Batman--he's unconscious. Savage, he--I think he's controlling him._

 _Olympia?_ came Kaldur's voice. Are you alright?

_Fine, just--just lightly stabbed. I think it will heal given time._

_Lightly stabbed?_ Wally yelled. _There's no 'lightly' to it!_

_Well, I'm not dead, am I? That is lightly._

The Team burst into the hall, Kaldur quickly running up to her. His eyes went from the Batarang to her, horrified.

"It's fine," she gasped, "do not worry. Take care of Batman, I-I can heal myself. But we need to talk once it is over."

"No, we are taking care of this. You need proper medical care."

She huffed, wincing at the pain it caused. "Fine. But the lost time is on you."

_* * *_

_**"KALDUR, THERE IS**_ nothing to worry about." She poked her bandaged stomach just to spite him. "See? Already starting to heal."

"Poking it will not make it heal," he sighed, holding the bridge of his nose for a moment. "Olympia, this is serious, we both know it is."

"It is, yes. But that does not change the fact that this was only a minor wound for me--"

"It was not!" Hearne flinched at the sharp change in his tone. "Last time, we all thought you had died. I will _not_ let it happen again."

She scowled. "You're not my keeper, Kaldur. It isn't your job to protect me. I can take care of myself."

He shut his eyes tightly, as if he was trying to stop himself from saying something he would regret. "We care about you. _I_ care about you. Why can you not see that?"

"I never--this is not what we were talking about!" Hearne's eyebrows pinched together defensively. "Do not change the subject!"

Kaldur sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, tension filling his shoulders. "Alright . . . Olympia, we will not speak of it."

Hearne was angry, and hurt, and she didn't know _how_ to feel. She had just fought Bruce (who somehow wasn't himself, and clearly under the influence of Savage), and now Kaldur was confusing her. What did he mean? Why did he care? Why did _she_ care if he cared?

"Crushes" as Athena called them were stupid. She didn't like them, and she wanted it gone. Her want for it to be gone didn't mean that the small flutter in her chest whenever she thought about embracing Kaldur went away.

"Don't call me by what he said," she sighed, picking at the skin beside her nail. "I know you know what it was, it was obvious what it was. But I'm afraid if you know my name, you'll figure out the rest. And I--that is not something heroes would like to know."

"Your past is not who you are," Kaldur assured. "My past is not who I am, and neither is yours. We choose who we are."

Hearne bit her lip anxiously. "I suppose so. But that is not important, we need to talk about Savage."

"Right," Kaldur sighed. "Did Batman tell you anything of importance?"

"Like I said, I am confident that Savage is controlling him," she said, her stomach churning at the mention of him. "He said that Savage wanted me at the Watchtower, and he said my name. Clearly, Savage was figured out who I am, and I can only guess he wants to finish what he started. But there's something larger at play. He might be controlling the entire League--they were all at the Watchtower because of the party, maybe it is all of them--but it still doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?"

"Savage is smart," Hearne explained, "he knows, eventually, someone would figure out the League is being controlled, and even if it took weeks, people would put a stop to it. He would not waste an entire day like he is. I think--I think he has bigger plans, this is all part of something bigger."

"The Light?"

Hearne huffed. "No, The Light is--The Light is an organization, a group of people working together, made up of the people heroes despise. They orchestrate many things in the world, the control almost everything, from the economy to food production. Their reach is ungodly. But if they had control over the League--the people they despise so strongly--they would not wait this long to do something." 

Her eyes widened. " _Shit._ Maybe they already have."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know," she said, raking a hand through her slightly-knotted hair. "There's a dozen possibilities. One is that, perhaps, it is off world. Savage's connections stretch across the galaxies, that might not be why we heard of anything. Or--or possibly Red Arrow."

Kaldur's face tightened in realization and he let out a tired breath. "He is not what they said, is he."

"He might be the mole," Hearne concluded, "but I don't think he's all they said. If he's the mole, he would be working for Savage. If he is a clone, maybe something went wrong--I don't know, this is all a lot to decipher. But they wanted us to find him, since you are some of Roy's only friends, and you would be able to find him better than they would. They want him. He's on the run."

"He's on the run," Kaldur repeated, as if he couldn't believe it. "He might not be the mole."

"Whatever he is, we need to find him."

_* * *_

_**"COMPUTER LOGS INDICATE**_ Red Arrow's Zeta'd to The Hall from the Watchtower," Artemis explained, "but he could be anywhere by now."

"After Roy went solo he installed equipment caches in several major cities," Kaldur said. "One is here."

Hearne frowned as she looked out the window to see a city below them as the Bioship hovered above a rooftop. "This is an awful idea."

Kaldur nodded. "Perhaps. But we have no other choice."

With a deep breath, Hearne got up from her seat, stretched until her shoulder popped, and watched as Kaldur dropped out of the hole in the Bioship towards the rooftop. He needed to talk to Red Arrow. They all knew if Red Arrow would speak to anyone, it would be Kaldur, and at the moment, they needed someone to get through to him.

Even with that, Hearne still thought primarily of one thing: her family's killer. Vandal Savage was planning something, something they still couldn't figure out. Typically, when she thought of him, she was filled with rage for a life he'd stolen from her, but now, all she could feel was a numb hole in her chest. Soon, she would face Savage or his partners, and the thought of her death hung grimly over her head. This time, she might not come back from it.

"Vandal Savage," Artemis abruptly said, "he's the one who killed your family."

Hearne scowled as she turned toward her teammate. "How did you know that?"

"My dad," she quickly answered, "Sportsmaster, he told me about people that Savage killed. He told me about it right after it happened, it was--it was when he became worse. I think that was when he realized what the people he worked with could really do."

Reluctantly, Hearne took her seat. "Yes, it was Vandal Savage. He killed them five years ago." She shut her eyes, the stinging in them picking away at her chest. "July 6th, 2005."

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I'd do if I lost my mom. I can't imagine what it must've been like."

Hearne didn't say that no, she couldn't, because it was unlike losing a mother, or a sister, or a father. But she didn't say that. Even if Artemis couldn't fathom what it was like to lose your entire culture and species in one day, the sentiment that she still tried to comfort Hearne didn't fall deaf upon her ears.

The hatch door abruptly opened and Hearne sprung to her feet, hand immediately going to the dagger on her belt as darkness began to mold around her figure.

Kaldur quickly held his hands up with wide eyes. "It is only us!"

Hearne forced the darkness to recede despite how it calmed her, especially with Red Arrow walking directly behind Kaldur. Him being that close disturbed her. What if he was the mole? What if he hurt Kaldur? The thought Kaldur getting hurt didn't sit right with Hearne.

"My bow's down," Roy said as he took a seat beside Kaldur. "Don't worry."

"I wasn't."

The Bioship rose into the air and took off and Hearne promptly snapped the buckle of her seat-belt into place. The practice of them was still rather new to her, Athena didn't require her to wear one since she didn't like them, and her using them had only started when M'gann insisted she needed to, or she wouldn't be allowed in the Bioship. The rule was flawed, but she followed it anyway.

"We were told you were the mole," Kaldur finally said after a few tension-filled minutes. "But we have reason to doubt."

"Forget doubt." Red Arrow's shoulders slumped. "I was the mole."

If Batman and Red Tornado were telling the truth, then what was wrong? Was Savage truly captured? She could hardly believe it, but maybe it had been too long since she had been in his circle. Maybe he had changed.

"Batman and Tornado said you're a Cadmus clone," Connor said, "like me."

"That explains it," Red Arrow sighed. "I was a sleeper agent, pre-programmed to infiltrate the League. I think . . . I think Sportsmaster was my handler. He had a key phrase, 'Broken Arrow' that could shut me down, put me in a hypnotic state to steal secrets for his superiors or incorporate further programming." This seemed new to him, like it suddenly made sense why things didn't fit together perfectly. "I'd then carry out all orders subconsciously, completely unaware of what drove me."

He turned in his chair to face the team in the back of the Bioship, all excluding Kaldur. "I think one of those orders was to focus suspicion on the four of you. I'm sorry."

"How did Batman discover this and prevent you from betraying the League?" Kaldur asked.

 _He didn't,_ Hearne thought. _It's all so, so wrong, everything's going so wrong, they're all gone and Red Arrow's a clone and a mole and--_

"He didn't," he answered. "They--the League--they're all . . . enslaved. I'm not sure what's going on, it all happened so fast. But I think I put the thing--Starotech, that's what Savage called it--I think I put it on all of them. It controls the host, allows him to make them do whatever he wants. They're completely at his mercy."

"I'm sorry," M'gann said after a few moments of silence, "but how is it that _you_ are no longer enslaved?"

"No Starotech for starters," Red Arrow explained, "just my . . . Cadmus programming. And once I'd satisfied its last parameter my mind began to clear. I'm sure Savage planned to 'Starotech' me, but he paused to . . . _bask._ I escaped."

"I promise, I can clean any residual programming from your mind."

Red Arrow was skilled, but he was the least of their worries. Nabu was against them, as well as a Kryptonian and Diana. The odds were not in their favor.

"They're here," M'gann abruptly said. "The rest of the team, they're here."

Hearne didn't ask how. Perhaps they were in range and M'gann directed them towards the camouflaged Bioship. She didn't ask, it wasn't the thing of most importance.

They quickly filed in, a conscious Black Canary tied and gagged in Kid Flash's arms, while the waist-up of a robot's body was in Robin's. Not to mention Batman, who was walking forward on his own accord, somehow knowing he was beat with his hands tied.

"So, uh . . . I'm guessing you guys know since Red Arrow's here?" Wally said.

"We do." Hearne took a deep breath. "And now we plan our attack.

_* * *_

**_HEARNE FELT LIKE_** her heart was going to burst out of her chest at any moment. They were in the Watchtower, the same place that Vandal Savage was. Hearne hadn't felt this many emotions at once since the compound was destroyed.

She was angry, so angry that it hurt, yet she was petrified. She could barely breathe from how terrified she was to face him.

 _RT did it,_ Robin said. _Wirelessly bypassed security for us as soon as he arrived. Savage shouldn't know we're here._

 _Move out,_ Kaldur ordered.

Hearne left with him, the two deciding beforehand that their powers worked better together than with the others', but also that they knew each other's moves after choosing each other as sparring partners most of the time. Hearne could predict his movements, it made him a better person to fight alongside.

Kaldur had said he could rarely predict the move she was going to make, that he only went based off of how she poised herself before she struck. It was good to know that even to someone as trained as Kaldur that she was unpredictable. But a small part of her found that horrifying.

 _Plastic Man's down,_ Wally said.

 _And Hawkman,_ Robin added.

 _Has anyone spotted Savage or Nabu?_ Hearne asked. _They're out greatest opponents._

 _Not yet,_ Rocket answered. _If I find Doctor Fate, he's all yours, girl._

_Atom's down._

When were they going to find a League member? They were all at the Watchtower when Savage took control. Hearne was on edge waiting for Nabu and Savage. She wouldn't let anyone else face them, they couldn't. She had to face Savage, it was only right.

Kaldur grabbed her wrist and she stopped immediately. Up ahead was Captain Atom. They had to do this carefully, his raw power could kill them both.

They ran forward silently and Hearne raised her hands to shoot a ball of darkness at him, sending Captain Atom stumbling forward as he clutched his chest in pain. With those few seconds of time, Kaldur took out his waterbearer and sent a stream of water forward, an Curotech within it, and she watched as it sunk into Captain Atom's neck.

He crumpled, immediately unconscious, but his body still shook slightly.

 _Is he going to be alright?_ Kaldur asked. _What will your powers do to him?_

 _He can absorb a small amount,_ Hearne said. _It only stuns him. When he wakes up he won't even remember._

This wasn't a time to be careful. She had to use full-force. She had to make sure they were down. Part of her was scared, scared that she'd use too much power and leave them an empty shell, but she knew she wouldn't. She didn't do that anymore, she wouldn't allow it.

 _M'gann,_ Kaldur said, _we're headed to you._

_We're by the third Zeta entrance. Zatanna and Rocket are with me._

Hearne looked to Kaldur, and she knew that her fear wasn't showing, but somehow, he knew. He grabbed her hand, and together, they ran toward the others. Hearne didn't have time to think about the fact that they were holding hands, because as soon as they arrived, they barely had time to duck behind a stack of packages as Icon, Nabu, and Captain Marvel came through the Zeta Beam.

M'gann was above, invisible, with three Curotech, waiting for them to come through so she could safely put them onto their necks. Rocket and Zatanna were nearby, perched and ready in case things went wrong.

_If Nabu cannot be done, leave him to me._

No one objected.

One Curotech lodged itself onto Nabu's neck, but he cried out as he crumpled to the floor, and Icon turned just in time to vaporize the remaining Curotech and shoot M'gann with a beam of energy. Rocket burst forward and put a Curotech onto the back of her mentor's neck, looking rather remorseful.

" _Trulb tuo mazahs!_ " Zatanna cried.

"Shazam!"

Billy landed in Zatanna's arms, taking her to the floor. Hearne watched anxiously, feeling useless, but knowing her assistance wasn't yet needed.

When they were all unconscious on the ground, aside from Billy, who was already on his feet, Hearne and Kaldur made their way out from behind the packages.

 _Too bad Curotech doesn't work as fast as Starotech,_ Rocket said. We could use these guys.

 _It is a small miracle Queen Mera and Doctors Roquette, Spece and Vulko were able to re-engineer a cure and vaccine at all,_ Kaldur pointed out.

 _Hey,_ Wally butted in, _if you guys aren't busy._

 _On my way._ The two of them took off into a sprint. You three rendezvous with Robin and Superboy.

 _I-I'll be right behind you,_ Zatanna said. 

Kaldur briefly looked down to their still-linked hands and Hearne's eyes widened as she hastily let go of his hand. She didn't have time for silly things like feelings and how she really, really enjoyed holding his hand. They had enemies to defeat.

 _I'm amazed we're still alive,_ Artemis breathed out.

 _It's cause they're being controlled,_ Wally said. _They're limited by whoever's pulling their strings. The very thing putting us in danger is the only thing giving us a chance._

 _Artemis,_ Kaldur yelled, Kid!

He slammed the door behind them, locking them in. Oh, _shit._ Hearne finally understood what they were doing.

Artemis fired an arrow, one with a cable, and it stuck to the wall as Wally held onto her.

_Hold on._

_Holding._

As the sirens blared, the steel doors opened, and Hearne felt the air being sucked from her lungs as she desperately held onto Kaldur's torso. It reminded her of what it felt like to be strangled mercilessly, to have your lungs feel like they would burst into thousands of pieces.

Kaldur pressed the red button and the doors slammed shut, and Hearne stumbled once they weren't being pulled sideways, but he caught her. She grabbed her neck, soothing it with her fingers, feeling the ghost of fingers around her neck, squeezing until blood vessels burst.

She didn't hear the others talk in her head as she walked forward with Kaldur to see the Leaguers with Curotech in the necks. She still thought of what it felt like to be strangled, who had done it to her in the past, as if _that_ was the thing that was important at the moment.

But one thing they said caught her attention.

 _Guys!_ Robin yelled. _Athena--she's here! Olympia, get down here now!_

Hearne's eyes widened and she looked to Kaldur, who seemed to understand. Together, they ran as fast as they could toward the others, Hearne's heart ramming against her chest. _She wasn't fast enough_. Hearne leaped into the air, taking Kaldur with her, and the darkness propelled her forward, carrying under their feet as she rocketed toward the others--toward _Athena_.

When she arrived, she was appalled. Athena was in normal civilian clothes, how had she gotten there? Had Diana or Bruce invited her? He hadn't mentioned her.

"Athena," she said, "do not make me do this. You know what I can do."

She didn't respond and only charged forward, her leg swinging for Hearne's head. She ducked under it, grabbed her ankle, and flipped her onto the ground, a _crack_ erupting from Athena's arm in the process.

"I'm sorry, Athena," she whispered.

She placed the Curotech onto her neck and watched as the only family she had left crumpled into the floor.

Kaldur came forward and put a hand on her chest. "It had to be done."

"I know. I just don't understand how she got here."

"We can ask her when she awakes."

"Right, yeah--you're right." Hearne rubbed Athena's back before she stood, as if somehow she would know she was sorry. "Let's go."

He didn't need to be told twice. The others were already gone, leaving just them. When they arrived to the grand entrance, no one but Red Tornado--torn apart, only a torso and head--remained.

"Congratulations, team," he said, "you have won the day."

For once, Hearne felt like maybe they had.

"Happy New Year, Justice League," the computer announced as it began to play soft, instrumental music. It was New Year's already. She had been so caught up in saving everyone that she had forgot what the date was.

Wally picked Artemis up into his arms and they kissed, and Hearne could only smile slightly as the others followed, down to Zatanna and Robin.

"Well," she said, "it took them long enough."

"Yes, it did." Kaldur's hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her forward so her chest was pressed against his. Hearne felt like she couldn't breathe as he bent down, because she had never felt anything like it. It felt like small supernovas had erupted in her body, making her stomach twist in the most magnificent way. It was better than she could have imagined.

When they pulled away, she couldn't help but smile as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. Feelings sucked, but maybe these weren't too bad. She liked him, a lot, and even if it was a weakness, she liked having it.

"Finally!" Wally yelled, slapping a hand on Kaldur's shoulder. "Watching you two has been exhausting!"

Hearne laughed as she pulled away to hold Kaldur's hand. "Trust me, it wasn't easy for me, either."

Nothing was easy, not for her, but she was certain she would make this work, whatever it would take.


	23. Different Normal

**HEARNE LOOKED OVER TO MAL, WHO WAS PLAYING WITH BANDIT.** Ever since she had gotten the dog a year before, Mal had treated him like he was royalty, going as far as to give him rides in Sphere. She'd go as far to say that Mal might love the dog more than her.

As Dick and La'gaan sparred a few yards in front of them, Mal looked up, noticing her staring. "See something you like?"

She laughed and bent down onto their level, giving Bandit a scratch behind the ears. "Like I'd ever test Karen. She's lethal."

He smiled dreamily. "Yeah, she is."

_Recognized, Superboy, B04. Miss Martian, B05. Bumblebee B18. Beast Boy, B20. Robin, B21. Blue Beetle, B24._

Once Connor was in the room, Bandit bolted, nearly pushing him over. 

"What am I?" Mal said. "Chopped liver?"

Hearne smiled, gave him a sarcastic pat on the back, and jogged over to Connor. Her nose immediately wrinkled once she was within four feet of him, her eyes drifting to the brown splotches on his body.

"Is that . . .?"

"It's mud," he said. "Trust me, I checked."

He ruffled Bandit's ears, grabbing him in a headlock playfully as the two started to wrestle. It was cute. Connor usually wasn't this relaxed--at least not in this way. He never dared to "wrestle" with someone, always self-conscious that he'd accidentally hurt him. After five years, Hearne had convinced him that she'd never let anyone get hurt on her watch, especially not herself. 

"So, we still on for tonight?"

"Movies? Of course. Just let me hit the showers first, I'm pretty sure you don't want this on your couch."

She smiled. "Yeah, probably not."

As he walked away, she felt a sense of peace. Ever since Kaldur had--since he left, they'd been having movie nights every Friday since then, because Connor had insisted she needed someone there. He was right. She was glad that despite everything, she still had people. Five years ago, down to the date, she had thought her life would be over in a matter of weeks. She wasn't sure if she was glad or not, but she likes to think she was.

"Emergency alert." Hearne's head snapped up as Captain Atom appeared on the holographic screen above the remaining people in the room. She doubted it meant anything good. "United Nations Headquarters is under attack."

She walked forward, Bandit following obediently at her heels. Dick gave her a brief nod to let her know that he knew she was there.

"Beta's only two blocks away," Mal whispered to the two of them.

"Captain Atom," Dick said, "the team's Beta Squad is in the vicinity. ETA three minutes."

"Good. Thank you, Nightwing. You make this job a lot easier."

"I think I remember you telling me that, a lot."

With a roll of his eyes, Captain Atom cut the call, and Hearne turned to find the room empty, aside from Bandit, Mal, and Dick. She was going to put a bell on this team one day.

"Calypso's with Beta, isn't she?" Hearne asked.

"Cassie said she joined them a few hours ago." He shut the computer off. "Calypso can handle herself, Hearne. Don't worry about her."

"Just because I shouldn't doesn't mean I won't." She ran a hand through her hair. "Alright, I got to get going. Wedding planning with Athena. If you want to join . . .?"

"No thanks," Dick said with a small laugh. "I can't hear one more 'lavender or robin's egg' again."

"Fine, but it's cake testing day." She winked at him. "You know you want some, Nightwing."

He pressed his lips into a thin line. "You're evil, you know that?"

"Yep!" She snapped her fingers for Bandit to follow as she made her way toward the Zeta-Beam. "I think it's on my business card!"

 _B08, Olympian._ She'd grown to know that sound better than her own name.

_* * *_

_**ALL OF HEARNE'S**_ plans had been cancelled for the past three days. Movie night with Connor, planning with Athena, her usual scheduled trip to Atlantis--everything. Quite frankly, it pissed her off, but she understood that they needed her help. After making a few calls, Hearne found out that the alien was a Krolotean, nicknamed the "thief of the galaxies," which wasn't entirely comforting.

When she had gotten the call from Calypso that Secretary Tseng was actually an alien, at that another alien had stepped in and taken the Krolotean that he actually was, Hearne nearly had a coronary. Ever since then, she had cancelled all of her plans and thrown herself into her work. Connor said it wasn't a good thing to do, but she did it anyway, it distracted her.

_Recognized, Zatanna 2-5. Rocket, 2-6._

Hearne nearly groaned out loud at the entrance of Raquel, but she didn't.

"The big guy's Lobo," John (otherwise known as Green Lantern) said. "He's an intergalactic bounty hunter. Extremely dangerous, but noy likely to return. The little guy's another story." He gestured to the alien on-screen, where Lobo was holding it after it was ripped out of Secretary Tseng's robotic body. "That's a Krolotean and Krolotean _always_ travel in packs."

"Meaning more of them are on Earth," Batman grimly concluded.

"I believe my friend may have vital information on that point," Martian Manhunted suggested. "Some of you have not met Adam Strange of S.T.A.R. Labs Erdel Initiative. He is the scientist responsible for maintaining the Zeta-Beam technology we use for teleportation. And he has a story to tell."

 _I was wondering why a stranger was allowed on top of the secret watchtower,_ Connor said in the mind-link.

 _Agreed,_ she said.

But it just felt . . . wrong. The mind-link used to be different, it was made of the original team, then including Zatanna and Rocket, one that was always open for them to talk. But now it wasn't. Because Artemis and Wally were retired, Kaldur wasn't even there anymore, and Zatanna and Rocket were on the Justice League. Numbly, Hearne wondered if she should have taken Orin's offer and joined, too.

"Uh, it's a little involved," Adam said, almost sheepishly. "I wish I had visual aids or something."

"I can assist you."

Martian Manhunter's eyes glowed red, and Adam winced and palmed at his head as their mind-link collapsed and melded with the Justice League's.

 _We are all linked, Adam,_ he prompted. _What you remember, we will see._

"Uh, great?" he said with wide eyes.

 _I was performing a routine Zeta Tube upgrade--_ blurry memories of him with tools appeared in her mind-- _when something went wrong and I found myself transported halfway across the galaxy to a planet called Rann._ More blurry image-like memories of a spacious room with what seemed to be a Zeta Tube and an alien in a white lab-coat like suit. _There was a scientist there, Sardath. He was conducting his own experiments in enhanced,_ very enhanced, _Zeta Beam technology. It took weeks to establish even basic communication. But Sardath eventually made me understand some of his Zeta tech had been stolen._

The link fell away, back into the two seperate ones from before.

"Fits the Krolotean MO," John said. "Their entire culture revolves around stolen tech."

"Sardath detected transmissions between a single location on Rann and multiple locations on Earth," Adam quickly said. "He was attempting to trace those when he accidentally transported me to Rann." He pulled out a black box-like object from his lab-coat pocket and a small, yellow holographic Earth appeared. "He gave me this. It detects trace Zeta radiation and can pinpoint all the locations where Kroloteans have beamed to Earth."

"Then I'm ordering a two-prong attack," Captain Atom said. "We'll stage simultaneous raids on every Krolotean target on Earth, while a contingent of Leaugers travels to Rann with Strange here, to cut the Kroloteans off at the source."

"Uh, we might have a problem with that second prong," Adam interjected. "Totally unclear on the why, but Earthlings are _persona non grata_ in Rann's corner of the galaxy. And these five Leaguers are wanted criminals. And this woman, but I've never seen her before."

Hearne felt her heart drop into her stomach, her skin going ice cold. The missing hours, the ones they couldn't account for--that's where they went, across the galaxy, like she had theorized. And Athena had gone, too. Another ploy to mess with Hearne's mind.

"Batman," Dick said urgently, "it's the missing sixteen hours!"

"Agreed," he said. "Five years ago, Vandal Savage took complete mental control of the entire Justice League," Batman explained. "These exact six--six people went missing for sixteen hours."

"You were right, Olympian," John said, still reeling from the information. "I'm sorry we didn't--"

"It's fine. You didn't believe me, I understand."

She wanted to break his nose, but she didn't voice that.

"I'll alert Hal," John said, "he and Guy are on Oa with the Green Lanters Corps."

"Meanwhile we have sixteen other active Leaguers to send to Rann to investigate," Captain Atom pointed out.

"You're not getting it, there's a planetary watch alert out on Rann for every Leaguer." All of them flashed across the holograph, down to Rocket and Zatanna, the newest members who hadn't even been part of the League then.

"Not all of us are Leaguers," Dick said, stepping forward. "I can send a squad to handle the Rann end of things. And to find out more about those sixteen hours. _Without_ causing an intergalactic incident."

"Do it."

As the others started to walk away, Hearne turned beside Connor, but Adam stopped them. "Uh, if you're going . . . don't wear that shirt."

Hearne bit back a laugh as they walked to meet up with the others. They might not be on the same team anymore, but Rocket and Zatanna were just as much of their team as before. 

_You know, that thing about you not being Leaguers, you four still have an open invation to . . ._

_We know, Z,_ Dick said.

_But we're all pretty happy--_

_Where we are,_ Connor finished.

Hearne nodded, avoiding Raquel's pointed look. Maybe she did have some regrets about not joing the League, but it didn't matter anymore. That time had passed, she needed to be on The Team.

As they headed toward the Zeta Tubes, just the four of them this time, Hearne bumped Connor's shoulder. "You're going, aren't you?"

"Why?"

"That's a yes. And if you're going, I'm going."

"But you're one of the powerhouses on The Team, shouldn't you stay here?"

"That's why I'm _going_ to Rann," she said as they started to file into the Zeta Tube. "Besides, I can't let you go alone. You might punch some poor, innocent alien in the face."

He huffed out a laugh. "I don't do that anymore." She gave a teasing pointed look toward him. "Okay, only every other week."

This would be easy, it was only the Kroloteans. Two months maximum, and then they would be back to their regularly scheduled chaos. 


	24. Left Behind

**"WHOA. I'M TOTALLY WALKING ON AN ALIEN PLANET!"** Gar's smile was wide, his eyes even wider as he looked off the balcony towards Rann's glorious city. "Wow, sis, you must say that like every day on Earth."

"Actually, I kinda do."

Gar stopped short as she ruffled his hair. "Wait, we can breathe the air here, right?"

Hearne smiled slightly, but it fell as an alien woman ran forward, calling Adam's name and speaking in Rannian. The woman stood only a few feet from them, the scientist he had told them about right beside her. She was pretty, with blue markings under her eyes that made her purple eyes stand out even more.

"Um, great, I think." Adam gestured to the four of them standing behind him. "Zeta Squad, these are my Rannian friends. Sardath, and his daughter, Alanna."

M'gann, Connor and Hearne all exchanged a look--Adam and Alanna _definetly_ had something going on.

Adam gestured to each of them, speaking Rannian, and Hearne could pick out all of the words, but they didn't piece together for her. She knew what he was saying, but she couldn't decipher the language.

Sardath spoke to them, and Hearne didn't understand his, only the last word, which was 'Zeta.' After he finished, they all looked to Adam expectantly.

"I'm still figuering out the language," he shrugged. "This is usually when we start playing charades."

M'gann's eyes glowed green, and Hearne's shoulders tensed. The mind-link was down, but something new was there. Something that included Adam and both Sardath and Alanna.

"Oh," Alanna gasped, "what was that?"

"Such an odd sensation," her father agreed."

Hearne looked to Connor, and it was clear neither of them knew what was going on, either.

"Wait, you're speaking English!" Adam excitedly said.

"No, they're not," M'gann explained, placing a hand on her chest. "But I linked us mentally. And I'm serving as a . . . psychic translator. They speak Rannian, they speak English. But all now hear the language they understand."

Hearne turned to Connor, tuning out both Adam and Alanna, something in her twinging at the sight of them. "This is weird, right? I'm not the only one that finds this weird?"

"Definetly weird," he agreed. "I'm not going to ask any questions, but does this mean we can hear them in several languages?"

"Let me try, you only know a handful of words in Latin and Spanish."

She focused on Sardath, and his words switched into Spanish. When she focused again, with a slight headache, she found his words turning into Latin. She knew other languages, but it had been so long since she properly spoke them she doubted she still knew enough for it to work. Only recently did she start speaking Spanish again, which took some time to regain.

Upon Sardath's suggestion that they should go inside, that they should use caution to harbor earthlings, they all followed him inside the building that they entered from.

When they reached the floor they came from on the elevator, Gar burst out, disappearing as he went to investiage a reptile-like bird that was resting on a perch.

"Sardath," Adam said, "have you learnt anything more about why earthlings are unwelcome in this corner of the galaxy?"

Sardath sighed. "The Rannian Science Command is xenophobic in general. Which is why my research into interplanetary Zeta Beam travel is being conducted quietly."

"And why you haven't reported the theft of your technology."

"Exactly. If Science Command learned I had made it possible for aliens--especially you earthlings--to Zeta here to Rann, the consequences could be dire for myself and my daughter."

"I still don't get it," Connor said. "Why the big hate for earthlings? How do they even know any earthlings to hate?"

A holograph appeared, displaying images of the League members, angry and unrecognizable. "I assume Adam showed you this," Alanna said. "We are still unclear on the details."

Hearne looked away from the screen discreetly once Athena popped up, her face contorted into rage, that same red suit she had never worn before adorning her, a knife in hand that Hearne hadn't ever seen, either. It sickened her--and the worst part was that it was her fault.

"Science Command is not inclined to share intelligence with its people," Sardath explained sourly.

"But we have learned that there was an incident on the planet Rimbor involving earthling criminals known as the Justice League." Hearne once again felt her stomach flip as she saw Athena on the screen, and further once she saw Diana. 

"I assume you are not associated with these outlaws?" Sardath asked.

"We are not members of the League," M'gann answered.

"Only these six were on Rimbor," Sardath said, gesturing to the screen behind him. "But since then the Kroloteans have posted planetary what alerts for every criminal in the League."

"The Kroloteans!" Adam said. "That's who stole your Zeta-Platform tech! They used it to secretly invade Earth which is how they found out about the other Leaguers."

"I know. I told you that the last time you were here."

Adam smacked himself on the forehead. "Of course. Kroloteans, right! I mistunderstood you. I thought it was just a Rannian word or thief."

"It might as well be," Alanna agreed.

"Yeah, Krolotean culture revolves around stolen tech," Connor said. "We heard. Question is, what do we do about it?"

"My father's Zeta Shield will help." She pressed a few buttons on the machine and another large holograph appeared, shaped like a yellow globe, with two planets inside of it.

"If I can perfect the design your primitive Zeta Tubes would still function within the confines of the Earthling atmosphere," Sardath explained. A red circle formed around Rann's smaller planet, a line going from it to the larger red one around Earth. "But unauthorized travel to and from other worlds will become impossible. In short, my shield will prevent more Kroloteans from invading your world via Zeta Beam while trapping any still entrenched there."

"And in the meantime," M'gann said, "Adam tells us you've located the Krolotean Zeta Platform here on Rann?"

"Indeed. But the jungles of Rann can be dangerous." Hearne hoped they couldn't have been more dangerous of the ones at the compound--those had mythical monsters. "You earthlings will need a guide."

"I'll go, father," Alanna said. "You must complete your work on the Zeta Shield.

"But transportation out of the city of Ranagar is also not without risks, Alanna. We must disguise these earthlings."

"Look, enough with this 'earthlings' thing." Connor put a hand on his chest. "I'm half-Kryptonian, Olympia is a halfling, and Miss Martian is--Martian!"

"You came here from Earth," Sardath said. "Did you not?"

"Yeah, but we are not . . ." He sighed, his eyes trained on Clark's photo. "Never mind."

"Alright, then. It is time to disguise you." Sardath looked at Hearne questioningly. "You might be difficult to do."

"Yeah, I figuered."

_* * *_

_**THEY STOOD AT**_ the train station, M'gann shape-shifted into a Rannian similar to Alanna, Gar into that bird-like creature he saw before, and the rest of them in red clothes similar to robes that formed a hood over their heads. As Sardath said, "you have to stay in the back, you do not blend in." Which made Hearne start to regret coming, since quite literally every person on Rann had light skin-tones and she stuck out like a sore thumb.

They boarded the train, Alanna and Adam on one seat, Hearne and Connor on one, and M'gann with Gar on her shoulder on another.

 _We should be fine now,_ Alanna said. Suddenly, two Rannians in dark suits shot their hands in front of the closing train doors, boarding as they opened again. _Unless the Rannian Science Patrol comes in for routine ID checks._

Hearne tucked her hands into her robe and ducked her head down.

 _I'll create a diversion,_ Adam suggested, _lead them off the train._

As he started to take out the jetpack-like device, Alanna grabbed his wrist. _No, it's not safe, I'll--_

 _You are the jungle guide, remember?_ he said. _I'll ditch these guys and circle back to your father's compound. Help him finish the Zeta Shield._

Alanna put her hands on top of his. _Be careful._

M'gann and Connor looked anywhere but at each other while Hearne sighed to herself and leaned onto Connor's shoulder, her head resting on the top of it. She told herself it was to comfort him, and maybe it was, but she didn't quite believe that.

Adam burst to his feet, his arms outstretched as the men walked toward him. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son. The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!" He grabbed onto their arms and their started to make flapping motions mere seconds later. "Bewre the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!"

He dropped the charade game and pinched one of their noses. "Got your nose!" With that, he sprinted out of the train doors. "No time to say hello, goodbye, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

He took off running, the men following behind him, and Hearne thought it was rather amusing. He did a good crazy impression.

 _Jabberwock?_ Alanna asked. _Bandersnatch?_

 _His last name is Strange,_ M'gann shrugged.

The train started moving forward and Hearne felt herself yawn despite herself.

 _Did you get any sleep?_ Connor asked. _You were at the Cave late, again._

 _I had to do some research again._ He gave her a pointed look. _I'll tell you about it later, after this is over._

She didn't plan on it.

Gar moved to her shoulder, pecking at the hood of her robe. _Hey, you said you'd teach me how to do the knee kick thing that you always do when we get back. Is that still happening?_

M'gann looked at her, wide-eyed.

 _He asked!_ Hearne defended. _Was I supposed to tell him no?_

_Yes, you were supposed to tell him he couldn't learn how to break a nose and rib in one move._

If it was possible, Gar's animal face looked disappointed. _Aw, man._

Alanna pulled out the holographic device to look at it. _We'll be in range of the coordinates soon._

Gar perched on the seat by M'gann. _Hey sis, remember that time you and Superboy visisted me in Qurac?_ He raised his tiny hand in a mischevious way. _He picked flowers that were really poison sumac._

_That was a long time ago, Gar._

_Noted,_ he said. _But you remember, right, Superboy?_

 _How much farther, Alanna?_ Connor asked, conveniently ignoring Gar's scheming question.

She pulled out the holograph again for a brief second. _We're close enough. Now._

Hearne stood, following behind them as Connor kicked the train doors off of their hinges. Alanna flew off in her jetpack while Gar and M'gann did it on their own while Hearne hyped herself up to jump down.

"I thought you didn't mind heights?"

"It's not the heights I'm worried about." She sighed. "Let's go."

She jumped with him, landing on the ground far below with a roll. She grit her teeth, her body aching in protest. Everything felt wrong--she had never felt this disconnected from the darkness, she'd never been that _far_ from it.

As Hearne got to her feet, the others came in behind them, landing much softer than her and Connor did.

Alanna pulled out her holograph. _This way._

Gar jumped past them--now in his regular form--swinging from a vine with a smile on his face as he landed in front of them. "Whoa!" he said, eyeing a flower ahead of him. "Now _that_ is some prime alien souvenier material."

As Gar went to jump, Alanna stopped him by grabbing onto his tail, making him fall, his chin hitting a small rock mere inches from the pond surrounding the flower. With her lips pressed thinly together, she picked up a stick and threw it into the pond.

The pond made a regurgiating noise and small purple flames flickered across it. Hearne took a step back. Gar jumped back like he had been the one eaten.

"Lucian bog," Alanna said. "Deadly. Basically, if it looks pretty, don't touch."

"Noted."

 _Let's get going,_ M'gann said. _We don't know how much time we have before they know we're here._

At that they began walking forward, in complete silence, aside from the snapping of twigs and Gar rambling to fill the void. Hearne wondered why she had gone to Rann, she knew her powers would be barely a fraction of what they were on Earth. She didn't understand why she couldn't just go with the others. Nothing made sense, not since--

 _It's bigger than I anticipated,_ Alanna said, making her head snap up. _Even this far out in the jungle how could something this size be built without Science Commnd knowing about it?_

The Kroloteans base--or whatever it was--sat several hundred yards ahead of them in a wide clearing. A large metal building, tall and wide, and she couldn't tell if it went underground, too. But she knew it had to have--at the least--over a hundred Kroloteans. Probably hundreds.

M'gann pulled her hood over her head. "I'm going in, I'll send you an image of where to rendevouz." She left into the air, invisible to the naked eye, and Hearne sighed to herself, leaning up against a pink-colored tree.

As she watched Connor look at the building, waiting for M'gann's message, she was hit with a sudden bout of nostalgia. Or maybe yearning, she wasn't sure. She missed the times where everything was simple, when they were all together. Before everything went wrong. Before Kaldur left, before Hearne ruined everything, before--

An image of a hatch door appeared in her mind, pointing at the sky. _I found your entrance._

As the others took off with ease, Hearne took a deep breath, did her best to hype herself up again, and jumped into the air. The darkness wobbled beneath her, thin and wispy, but it was enough to carry her to the top of the building with the others. Connor gave her a confused look, but she ignored it.

 _All clear,_ M'gann said.

Hearne tensed, fighting back the instinct to start thrashing in the air as M'gann moved all four of them with ease. She couldn't see her, but she knew she was near. When they moved down to land on one of the balcolny-like floors perched around the room, she was shocked. She barely saw any Kroloteans, not nearly as many as the building was meant to house. 

Were that many on Earth?

 _Six Zeta Platforms?_ Alanna said in shock.

 _Not for long._ Connor pulled out a box from his bag with six explosives. _These are small target explosives. Should permanently disable the platforms without blowing the whole base._ He picked up one and held it between his fingers. _Three minute triggers will give us plenty of time to get out before the Kroloteans know what him 'em._

The explosives floated out of the box, three in Gar's hands and three in the air where she guessed M'gann was. _Beast Boy and I will plant them. You three wait here._

Hearne didn't like the idea of that, but they had to. She barely had the darkness with her, Connor's jumping was too loud, and Alanna's mode of transportation was, too. They were, for lack of a better word, _benched_.

She watched as Gar placed the bombs, a green monkey-shaped blur on the ground, but M'gann's were too small, she couldn't even see them.

 _All set!_ Beast Boy said. _Now let's blow this popsicle--_

Alarms started to blare and Hearne flinched, her shoulders up to her ears as her eyes wildly moved around. The Kroloteans were yelling something in their language, and she watched with horror as the antennae in the middle of the spacious room went into place, elongating through the hatch where they came from.

 _The escape route's blocked,_ Alanna said. _We're trapped inside with the bombs!_

The antennae and Zeta Platforms started to glow yellow, and Kroloteans appeared on the platforms, crying out in what she could only assume was rage.

 _Yeah,_ Connor said. With the bombs and a lot of angry company.

 _New plan,_ M'gann said, _when the platforms blow use the chaos to charge through the front door, I'll cover you._

_And then we blow this popsicle--_

Hearne's eyes widened as Gar yelled when the bombs went off, her heart sinking into her stomach. It felt like she was back in Qurac, all those years ago, new to the job and new to herself, just as lost as she was now on how to help Gar.

 _Beast Boy!_ M'gann yelled. _Gar! Are you alright?_

She let out a breath of relief when she heard his groan. _Yeah, I'm good. Go!_

Hearne jumped down from their spot, her legs stinging with pain as she rolled into a standing position, taking off into a sprint. Her strength and endurance was limited, down to her pure biological abilities--she felt weak, small, something that could be squashed like a bug.

_The exit is clear!_

At M'gann's words, Hearne ran faster, breaking past Connor as she sprinted through the torn door. Her lungs were starting to burn, but she ignored it and pushed forward, entirely out of her depth as she ran through another door that M'gann broke open. The air on Rann, followed by the sounds of the wildlife, calmed her down as they didn't break their pace, still running full-force through the jungle.

She hadn't ever exerted herself this much. She could last longer than the average human before she got tired, but that was just it--without the darkness fueling her, even if she wasn't consciously tapping into it, Hearne was weakened. She was starting to regret coming.

They slowed down to a walk after nearly ten minutes, Hearne's heart beating a thousand miles an hour in her chest, each pant blowing back a strand of her shoulder-length hair.

 _Where did all those Kroloteans come from?_ Alanna asked, still in shock.

 _Earth, I think,_ M'gann answered. _Our teammates were set to raid their Earth bases about now._

 _Can't you translate their thoughts and find out for sure?_ Beast Boy asked, still in the form of a gorilla.

_Their minds are too . . . alien, it'd take hours--maybe days--to learn the language psychically. And I definetly couldn't do it without them noticing._

_Hm. Noted._

Connor stopped, an eyebrow slightly arched as he turned his head to the side. Shit, Hearne recognized that expression too well. _They're following us,_ he said. _Or something is. Something big._ His eyes widened and he turned, arm outstretched as he jumped. _Move!_

The sound of something large firing filled Hearne's ears right as an explosion blew her back off her feet and into a tree trunk. She let out a horrified scream, frantically patting at the few strands of her hair that were on fire, too absorbed in the fear that it would spread and contaminate her body until Connor pulled her to her feet.

She started sprinting alongside him, finally gaining enough of her footing to run full-force beside him without him having to yank her along.

A beam shot forward, hitting Alanna's device on her back, and it began to smoke, her body twisting with panic in the air before she hurriedly took it off and started to plummet downward. They both ran forward, trying to catch her before she hit the ground, but right as they reached her another beam fired, sending them skidding several hundred yards across the ground. Rocks streamed across Hearne's face, scratching until her lip split, her face flaring with pain, but that wasn't her worry--they were heading to the edge of a cliff.

She closed her eyes tight, her heart leaping into her throat as she held Alanna's hand as tight as she could. But someone was gripping her other one. She opened her eyes, relief flooding her body as she saw Connor holding onto her, his other hand just barely gripping the top of the cliff with his fingertips.

"Let go!' she yelled. "I'll figure something out, the weight's too much to do on just your hand!"

He didn't reply, he only let go and began to plummet downward, somehow positoning them as they fell downward so they were both in his arms. Hearne didn't question anything, she was only thankful she hadn't fallen to a grisly death.

Connor jumped into the air, landing behind a large mound of rock that obscured them from whatever was chasing them.

 _Hurry,_ Alanna said, _in here!_

Hearne didn't ask where they were going, she only followed in behind them, pushing the vines at the cave's mouth open in a hurry. She skidded to a stop, pressed tightly against the wall as she held her breath when she saw two large robots--shaped almost like a bug--go past.

Hearne let out a breath of relief, relaxing enough that she let her arm fall off of Connor and Alanna, where it was outstretched in some form of flimsy protection.

 _Superboy,_ M'gann cut it, _Olympia, Alanna, are you . . ._

 _Safe, for now,_ Hearne answered. _You?_

_We lost them._

_Now can we blow this popsicle stand?_ Gar asked impatiently, his childlike voice bringing a smile to Hearne's lips.

 _Now we stay put,_ M'gann said, her tone slightly sharp. _Give their patrols a chance to move on. We'll meet up below the Mag-Rail when it's safe._

 _And then we regroup with Adam and my father to determine what to do about this Krolotean base,_ Alanna agreed.

_M'gann, be careful._

_You too, Connor._

Hearne sat down, tucking her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself. She laid her head back against the cave wall, a bit too roughly since it made a small cut on the back of her skull. She didn't mind the pain, though.

"So, how long were you and she together?"

Connor sighed at Alanna's question. "All my life."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Oh. can she hear us?"

"It doesn't work that way." He sat down, between Hearne and Alanna, his head leant against the cave wall and wrists resting on his ankles. "Translation's basically automatic. She's not conscious of what we say out loud."

"Well, then, talk, I live light years away so you'll never see me again. Makes me the perfect confidante." 

He sighed, again. "It's complicated . . . and weird."

"Hey," she said, "I have a crush on an alien from another planet. Who am I to judge?"

"You asked for it." He looked towards his dirty combat boots. "See, I'm a clone. Force grown in the span of a few months to look like . . . this. M'gann somehow saw I could be more than the weapon I was created to be."

"Complicated, but sweet. Go on."

"M'gann's a shapeshifter. To her, looks are clothing for the mind inside. Easy to change. But I'm the opposite. It's become clear the processes used to create me had a side effect. I don't visibly age. At all. I'm not immortal I'm just--aging internally. But I'll always look--"

"This good?"

"Standard blessing and curse."

"Seems like a shapeshifter would be the perfect match for someone . . . suffering from your condition."

"I used to think so." Hearne's chin dug into her knees. "Anyway, she's with La'gaan now. I mean, he's kind of a jerk, but he's good to her."

Alanna placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well it's obvious she still has feelings for you. Perhaps she regrets leaving you for him."

"She didn't." Connor avoided Alanna's gaze. "I dumped her. She left me no choice."

At that sour note, Alanna poked her head further out so she could look at Hearne. "What about you?"

"Me?" She frowned. "What about me?"

"Every time a relationship is mentioned, you shy away. Right now, you haven't even looked up since we started talking."

Hearne bit her lip. "Well, it's complicated, you don't want to hear about it."

"Superboy told me he was a clone, and always going to be a teenager." Alanna smiled. "I think yours can't be much worse."

Connor puffed out a laugh through his nose.

"It's . . . it's better to explain before, for you to really understand why it was so important." Hearne squeezed her arms tighter around her legs. "My family, they weren't the people you would want to be raised by. They were soldiers raising soldiers. There wasn't time for emotions, or silly things like love. When you were young, someone within ten years of you was picked, and you were meant to have children together to carry on the bloodline. That's how things worked."

"It sounds like you didn't do that."

Hearne smiled slightly, surprising herself by taking it as a joke. "Yeah, I didn't. They--they died, and I was left alone. I won't go into the details, but eventually I found a place to call home, or what made me feel safe, and I stayed. And when I was there I found . . . I found Kaldur. When we first met I was self-destructive, I wanted to tear the world down with my bare hands just to feel something real. And somehow he made me feel that--he made me feel alive."

It was silent, aside from insects chirping.

"As you can tell, that didn't last. For three years it did, and I learned a lot. It was stupid, but I got so damn attached to him, to the point it felt like he was the air I breathed. But it isn't that way anymore. He betrayed me, to work for our enemy."

The words were lies, but it still hurt just as much.

"I'm sorry, it seems like you loved him a lot."

"I did." Hearne shut her eyes to hold back the burning. "Gods, I'm a mess." She took a deep breath and smoothed her hair down, plucking leaves and twigs out of it. "But--thanks."

"Of course. After all, you saved my life. I might as well offer something in return."

Hearne nodded. "You're right. But I think we should start heading back to the Mag-Rail, Miss Martian and Beast Boy have most likely already started."

Connor got to his feet, dusting of his pants. Hearne ignored how his fingernails were split from holding onto the cliff. "Alright. Let's go."

_* * *_

_**"WE'RE CLOSE. I**_ can see the Mag-Rail track up ahead."

Alanna spoke, but her words came out in Rannian, and Hearne's eyes widened. There wasn't a translation. She and Connor exchanged a look and he pressed his fingers to his temple.

Nothing.

"Something's wrong," he said. "M'gann always answers, immediately. It's--"

"One of her pet-peeves, she hates to hear the mindless chatter." She took a deep breath. "Something's not right. It could be the Science Command, but I doubt it. It has to be the Kroloteans, they had patrols out looking for all of us."

"Maybe." Connor looked behind him into the vast jungle, like M'gann would pop out at any moment. "Stay close, we don't know where they are."

"Wasn't planning on it."

They alternated between running and Connor jumping with them in his arms, but they opted more for running since it was silent, and offered more time to look for patrols, or any sign of M'gann and Gar. Finally, they found three of the bug-like vehicles, all heading in a line toward the same place.

Connor gave a signal, and they dashed behind a bush while he pulled one into the jungle, out of sight. When the two others turned out, their metal legs tearing up the red earth, Alanna sprinted out, yelling about the "Jabberwock" before she took off down the hill, a vehicle chasing behind her.

Hearne burst forward, sending a ball of the rawest darkness she could muster towards the machine, but it only made it fall onto its side, its legs thrashing around wildly.

"Oh, fuck you!" she cried out, not quite sure which god or being it was meant for.

She flipped her hair out of her face and ran forward, leaping up onto the side of the machine where the hatch was. She kicked it in, weakening it enough that she could pull it off of its hinges and throw it behind her.

It was only a Krolotean, not M'gann or Gar.

Hearne started to panic as the Krolotean ran off behind her and she hurried up to the other hatch. She let out a breath of relief as she saw M'gann and Gar inside. They were huddled together, unconscious, but it didn't matter. She grabbed Gar while Connor grabbed M'gann and they sat the two on the ground as they started to wake.

"Hey, Gar," she whispered as he started to move to his feet. "How about we limit the close calls to once every decade?"

He smiled. "No promises."

The moment was cut short as Hearne saw something in the air--the building. The Krolotean's base, it was a _ship_.

Beams fired down on them from some sort of weapon, thankfully smaller than the vehicle's, but still enough to hurt.

Connor yanked a vehicle over to cover them as Alanna held M'gann, attempting to shake her awake.

"They still trying to capture us?" Gar said. "Or is it just a bitter revenge thing now?"

"Either way," Connor said, "we discourage them. Game?"

"Me? I'm big game."

Hearne's eyebrows pinched together. "Wait, what about me?"

"Do you want me to throw you at the ship? You can't fly right now."

She looked up at the ship then back at herself, estimating how many broken bones it would be.

"Jesus Christ, no." Connor shook his head. "It was a joke, I'm not going to throw you."

Hearne flipped him off as he and Gar left, angry taht she couldn't be included for the first time in--well, ever--but understanding. She didn't have her powers, and what she did have was the bare minimum.

Alanna whispered to M'gann in Rannian, and while Hearne wanted to say something to encourage her friend to wake up, she had no idea what to say. She was never good with encouragement, she only started doing it recently. She was still a beginner in the art of positivity.

"Wake up!"

Hearne's eyes widened as M'gann's opened. She could understand Alanna, it wasn't just Rannian gibberish anymore.

_Alanna, what happened?_

_Oh, thank goodness, I can understand you again. You and Beast Boy were captured, but we rescued you._

Three Kroloteans ran by, stopping a few feet from them, screeching something in their language as they waved their arms at the retreating ship. Hearne felt a twang of sympathy. Being left behind by your people felt awful. Maybe if they could cooperate with them, she could--

Hearne felt horror flood her body as the Krolotean with a sash went into the air, floating mere feet from M'gann as it struggled, crying out as it tried to grab its head.

"M'gann!" she cried. "Stop it, you're hurting them! You're going to kill them!"

She held a hand over her mouth as the Krolotean went slack, the sash ripped off of its body and finding its way into M'gann's hand as its body felt to the ground. Her eyes burned as she walked forward, a shaking hand over her mouth as she knelt next to the Krolotean's body. Its eyes were full of pain and confusion.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't know she would do this. I thought I could stop her, I guess--I guess I wasn't enough."

The other two Kroloteans walked forward, hesitant, but she knew they understood somehow: she meant them no harm, she wouldn't hurt them like M'gann did.

"It's okay," she said as she stood, gesturing softly to the other Krolotean's body. "You can take them. No one can take that right from you."

She watched as the Kroloteans dragged their lost one away, her chest aching painfully. What were they to them? Brother, mother, friend, lover? She didn't know. She didn't stop M'gann. And what made it worse was that, somehow, she could see herself in that Krolotean. She knew she was reaching, that it didn't make any sense, but she _felt_ it. She could have been the one one the "wrong side," left behind, killed without hesitation for information.

It could have been her, and would M'gann have hesitated then?

Would _she_ have hesitated, all those years ago?


	25. Curse the Gods

**HEARNE DIDN'T WANT TO GO TO THE MANOR.** She missed Athena, she always did, but telling her the news felt like a curse that would stick with her for the rest of her life.

On top of it, Connor had gone with M'gann to sort out things with a Krolotean that the JL had in their custody. Hearne was itching to go, and she knew Connor wanted her to be there too, because they both knew it could be a repeat of what happened on Rann. And Hearne wanted him with her, too, he always knew how to calm her down.

But at least she had Dick. She'd pulled him away with an iron-tight grip as soon as she'd gotten through the Zeta-Beams, yanking him out of earshot of everyone aside from Connor, where she'd debriefed him on what they found out on Rann. Before they left she and Dick made the decision to wait to tell Athena when they got back, that they needed to know more. And now they knew more.

Dick had other things to do, but with one look from Hearne, he brushed off his responsibilities to Captain Atom. She looked like a ball of barbed wire, curled in tight, cold to the touch. Thankfully Dick knew her well enough to know _that_ Hearne wasn't the one to be delivering bad news on her own.

When they knocked on the door together, Bruce looked weary, but Athena's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Ah, you came back early!" She wrapped Hearne into a bone-crushing hug before she pulled away, her eyes narrowing at the gash on her forehead. 

"It's fine," Hearne assured her. "Don't worry. It'll heal in a few days."

"Mhm." 

They made their way into the living room, Athena's dog, Hydra, trailing at their heels. Bruce wasn't an animal person, but it was one of the many conditions that Athena had made if she was to move in with him two years before: she had to bring her pets. Which were Hydra, the mix of so many breeds he looked like a _something_ , and Gigi, the little black cat that was like a spawn of everything evil. 

As if the cat could read her thoughts, it went for her foot, and Hearne skitted away, eyeing the little cat dangerously. The cat had a death wish, it tried to attack every single person that came into the house, superhero or not.

"Since Bruce insisted on having such a fancy wedding for his rich friends, we couldn't cancel the cake tasting," Athena said as Bruce conveniently avoided her gaze. "But I made Dinah come since she was free, and guess what we picked?"

"Vanilla?" Dick guessed.

"I'm not that boring," Athena defended. "We chose this cocoa one, I think? Something like that. Bruce agreed on it, he thought it tasted good." She made Hydra scoot over on the couch so she and Bruce good fit while Hearne and Dick sat on the one across from them. "So, what's up?"

"Hm?" Hearne hummed, her eyes slightly wide. "What do you mean?"

"You usually tell us if you're gonna stop by," Athena pointed out. "You always do, it's a pet peeve of yours when people don't. Did something happen on Rann?"

Hearne took a deep breath as she looked to Dick for comfort. "It's about the missing sixteen hours from five years ago. Do you remember those?"

Athena paled. "I knew it," she whispered, shaking her head as she brought a hand to her face. Bruce put a hand on her shoulder, but she barely seemed to notice. "I knew Savage would do something awful, that bastard."

"He--he sent you to a planet called Rimbor. That's where you were for those sixteen hours."

Athena's eyes were shut tight. "Oh gods. I can't--I don't want to think about what I did then. Those _people_ \--"

"It wasn't you," Hearne finalized. "You didn't know what you were doing. You were being controlled, it isn't your fault."

Bruce looked stricken, and she knew he was blaming himself. He had invited her to the Watchtower New Year's Eve, on pestering from the others, where she had been taken control of. But it wasn't his fault, it was Hearne's. It was her job to protect Athena, that was what she was meant to do. She had sought Athena out all those years ago, and bringing the danger to her meant she was supposed to stop it.

Instead she'd gotten caught up in a flurry of what it felt like to feel something. But she liked to feel, she liked loving.

"We're working on how to fix it," Dick assured. "The Green Lanterns went back to Oa, to try to solve this. Just know everyone on the League is on your side, they know you."

"Oh, gods," Athena said, rubbing at her eyes. " _Fuck_. Just how I wanted to spend my wedding, being an intergalactic war criminal. Just great."

"I'll fix it," Hearne said, her nails digging into her palms. "I promise. I'll--I'll figure something out, you don't deserve this."

" _You_ don't deserve this," Athena corrected. "Savage did this to get to you. You deserve a break after everything you've been through."

"No, I've had my peace," Hearne said, smiling ruefully. "You took care of me when I was ready to rip the world apart. You made sure I didn't. For that--you deserve to get married, to live happily. I want to see you like that."

Athena let out a wet laugh as she stood, wrapping Hearne in a hug that made her eyes burn. "I don't know what I'd do without you," she whispered. "You're my world."

Hearne bit back a cry. "Always."

_* * *_

_RATIONALLY, HEARNE KNEW_ it was going to happen again. That M'gann would kill someone else, but she didn't think it would happen so soon.

M'gann had extracted information from a Krolotean at the Hall of Justice, where she found out that they were going to escape through Malina Island. Hearne hadn't been there to stop her, but she would be this time.

"Drop zone Gamma."

Hearne dropped through the hatch in the bottom of the Bioship, darkness beneath her as she landed in a clean roll. Batman was farther from her, out of her eyesight, but she knew he was there.

She brought the first soldier's head down into her knee before he even knew she was there, and by the time the others could react, she was already sending darkness their way. They crumpled to the ground, only one resisting the pull of its energy, but Batman took care of that one with a fist to the face.

She tried not to think about what Black Manta's soldiers being there meant, she only focused on walking quietly through the entrance and down the metal hall. Hearne motioned her head to the left when they reached a set of catwalks, and Batman gave a firm nod as he went right.

The soldiers were professional, they knew what they were doing, but they lacked certain qualities. They stood still, facing the same direction as all the others--leaving their backs open for attack.

All it took was an elbow around their throat from behind and they were incapacitated, their gasps for breath drowned out by the sound of the Kroloteans working on their ship. As she closed her arm around the last soldier on her catwalk, she saw one on the one below point his gun directly at the back of someone.

Hearne dropped the soldier and flew over the side of the railing, her knee landing on the soldier's back, their head slamming so forcefully into the floor that they were immediately knocked unconscious.

Calypso turned around, fists raised, and let out a breath of relief when she saw it was only Hearne. She didn't ask why Calypso wasn't with Orin and La'gaan like they had planned, she only trailed behind Calypso, the two overlooking the vast area.

Soldiers were milling around, as well as Kroloteans. The Kroloteans were building their ship, most likely to flee earth since their Zeta Beams had been cut off from the source. When she caught sight of someone with the same helmet as Black Manta, she kept her gaze elsewhere. She didn't want to see how they walked almost exactly like how she remembered, or how they carried a gun, something they had once despised.

Several shots fired, and Hearne sprang into action, Calypso not far behind her. They had spotted Robin, who had narrowly avoided getting shot by the laser beams. Hearne's fingers moved through the air, almost weaving it as she manipulated the darkness, wisps of it throwing soldiers over the railings and through the air.

"Olympian!" Dick yelled into the comms. "Get to Aquaman and La'gaan!"

The two were being cornered between Kroloteans and the bug-like vehicles that were on Rann. She flew through the air, darkness wafting off of her as she landed onto the vehicle, her feet denting the roof of it. As the Krolotean screamed in protest, she ripped the roof off, dismantling it in the process.

A dozen Kroloteans swarmed her, trying to rescue their friend, and Hearne blasted them into the water. She did a handspring backward toward Orin and La'gaan, where the two were fighting soldiers.

The fabric of Hearne's gloves were ripped from repeatedly punching the reinforced metal of the helmets, but she didn't pay it any attention as her foot collided into their chest. They grabbed her ankle and flung her to the left, but she quickly got to her feet and struck them with darkness, their body flying into the cave wall.

Their head hit it first, and when they got back onto their feet, the helmet was sparking, the lenses shattered.

Her breath caught in their throat when they took off their helmet.

She blinked, knowing it was the truth but refusing to believe it. " _Kaldur?_ "

"Hello, my love."

His fist collided into her jaw, and she couldn't hear anything else, everything fell short as she engaged him. A kick to his side, a kick to hers. A cut on his lip, a cut to her eyebrow. They bested each other perfectly after four years of training together.

"Take the traitor down!" La'gaan yelled. 

Hearne blocked Kaldur's sword narrowly. "We could have found a way, Kaldur." She could tell he was hearing her underneath the act. "We could have found a way, I would have done anything for you."

"Your fight has always been with the League, you made that very clear."

It was a lie, but it hurt worse than when he knocked her to the ground. For a moment, she wanted to stay there, to let whatever happened happen, but she didn't have a choice. 

Calypso pulled her to her feet right as Kaldur fired a small missile. She blocked it with the darkness, but the force of it nearly knocked her backward. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.

"It's okay," Calypso said. "It's over."

But that was the point. _It was over_.

"We have a bomb down here," Dick said into the comms. "Alien tech. I cannot disarm it."

"I can absorb the blast," Hearne suggested. "Contain it."

"We don't know its origin, we can't take the risk."

"Nightwing--"

"All squads evacuate to Bioship. _Now!_ "

Her lip twitched at the order, but she followed it anyway. She took off sprinting but stopped once she saw Calypso wasn't beside her. "Titan, we have to go!"

"I'm right behind you!" she yelled. "Go!"

Hearne didn't want to leave without her, but it was clear it wasn't up for debate on Calypso's side. She ran past Batman, nearly falling into Connor as she boarded the Bioship. As she looked around, she saw that everyone was there. Everyone except for Calypso and Clark.

"Wait, where's Superman?" Connor asked.

"We need to go," Dick urged. "It goes off any second now."

"Go," Hearne said, ignoring Connor's protest. "Superman can withstand the explosion. Not everyone on this ship can."

She was right. But despite that, she looked out the windows, desperately hoping to see some sign of Calypso or Clark. They were strong, they could possibly withstand the explosion, but it didn't make waiting for it any easier.

When the bomb detonated the sky seemed to burst with it. Hearne's entire body seemed to clench, her mind flashing back to a time years before, when bombs lit up her world for the first time. She fought the urge to vomit as the ship shook, just as the way her hiding place did for hours after. 

When it ended Hearne opened her eyes to see that she had dented the Bioship's metal. She winced and hoped it could feel her guilt as it reformed back to its natural state. The split-second guilt was over as she looked back out the window. "Can anyone see them?" she asked. "Can anyone see Calypso?"

Her heart was beating fast in her chest, a burn in her throat, and she nearly let out a gasp of relief as she saw two bodies plummeting out of the sky, like a torpedo that drilled right into the ocean. She didn't wait for the Bioship to get closer, she dove directly out of the hatch with Orin, pushing faster than him, the darkness seeming to feed off of her anxiety.

Her lungs were burning from being underwater so long, but she didn't focus on that. She only grabbed Calypso while Orin grabbed Clark, barely managing to pry Calypso's half-conscious hands off of Clark's suit where she had been gripping it protectively. She mumbled things incoherently in Ancient Greek, things that didn't quite piece together, but Hearne still whispered back nonetheless as she sat Calypso onto the Bioship's boarding ramp.

Connor helped her up as she barely held back a wince of pain, everything in her seeming to be on fire. He helped bring Calypso further into the Bioship, away from the doors, but he seemed uneasy as she kept mumbling.

"What's she saying? Is that . . . Greek?"

"Ancient Greek," Hearne clarified. "She's cursing the gods."


	26. Weight of the World

_**"I CAN'T LOSE YOU."** _

_"You're not losing me. No matter what happens, I'm always here for you."_

_Hearne didn't want to cry, but the burning in her eyes wasn't helping. "We can do something. I can fix this. I can call in a few favors, I can--"_

_"There's no one that can fix this, Hearne. It's okay, really."_

_"I-I can talk to Savage," Hearne said. "I-I can make him stop this. He can do it, he has power everywhere. Then you won't have to go and--"_

_"Don't talk to Savage." Athena's tone was serious, almost threatening. "You hear me? No matter what happens, you don't talk to him. Stay away from him."_

_"But I can--"_

_"I can't lose you," Athena whispered. "Okay? Ever since that day you showed up on my doorstep, you've been my number on priority. It's you above everything. And if I got you hurt--I can't live with that. So while I'm gone--no matter how long that is--you stay safe, okay?"_

_"You don't understand," Hearne insisted. "It's my fault. If I hadn't of come to you and joined The Team, you would have never been on his radar. You would have never went to Rimborne. You'd be marrying Bruce in a month and you wouldn't--"_

_"I don't want a life without you, even if it means this never happened." She took Hearne's calloused, scarred hands in her small ones. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You're like--you're my daughter. I might not be your mother, but you're my daughter. So don't think for a second I'd want a life without you."_

_"I can come with you," Hearne tried, tears in her eyes. "That way you won't be alone."_

_"Batman's coming with me, Dick and Alfred finally convinced him it was the right thing to do, hero work be damned." She sighed and gave Hearne's hands a squeeze. "I won't be alone. Clark'll be there, and so will Diana. And you'll be here, with your friends. Connor, and Dick, and Mal and Artemis and Wally. They'll be here for you. And the Manor's just a Zeta away, Alfred's waiting for you whenever you want."_

_Hearne's chin was trembling. "I'm going to miss you so much."_

_"I know." Athena gave a watery smile. "I'll miss you too."_

_Everyone's goodbyes were starting to wind down, but Hearne wasn't ready yet. She'd never be ready for this._

_Athena hugged her fiercely. "Do you remember what you said? When you knocked on my door?"_

_"'My name is Hearne Fowler, the last heir to the Fowler Empire, and I seek safe haven,'" Hearne whispered. "Yeah, I remember."_

_"It scared the crap out of me. I knew about the Fowlers, my parents told me all about them, but we were the last of the Demaines. I didn't know as much as they did. They taught me how to worship the gods and thought it was enough." She hiccuped. "And then you showed up, you were only nine, and you were covered in ash and shivering from the cold and I just--I knew. Even though you were dead-set on killing me for a couple months, I knew that you would be the best thing I ever did."_

_Hearne held back a sob. "I was so scared. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know if my family had any allies left. But I knew you existed, and that was the only thing I had. And for months I-I was terrified, I kept thinking Savage would show up to finish me off, or maybe you'd do it yourself because I was being such a brat but y-you didn't. You taught me how to be human."_

_"I didn't teach you how to be human. I was just the first person that didn't tell you no."_

_Bruce was making his way over with Dick and Hearne sobered up, wiping at her tears as she pulled away. "It's time, isn't it?"_

_As Hearne watched them leave, up into the air, into the stars like they never existed, she was sure if Dick hadn't have been holding onto her she would have followed them._

Hearne woke with a start, sweat beading on her back, and she flinched when she felt a wet nose poke at her hand. "Oh, hello Bandit. What time is it?"

She looked over at her alarm clock--it was barely even four in the morning.

With a sigh, she got to her feet, making her way through the dark house. "Dammit. But at least it'll be you and me, right buddy?"

Bandit didn't seem to know what she was saying, but he was looping around her, tail wagging so fast he nearly knocked over a picture frame, and Hearne decided that was just as good. when she opened the back door Bandit went sprinting out, no doubt going to chase another opossum or raccoon by the barn.

He vanished behind the barn with a flick of his red tail, and Hearne rubbed at her eyes, trying to wake herself up. She'd gotten used to sleeping at least six hours, but she could function on left. She did for years.

It always was easier when she wasn't in the house alone.

Her skin prickled, and with a quick grab of her knife on the counter, she flung it into the dark corner of the kitchen--where she heard the distinct sound of someone catching it.

"Sorry. I probably should have knocked."

"Calypso, I could have killed you!" Hearne hissed. "What have I told you about breaking in without warning?"

"That you're paranoid and would probably snap my neck."

" _Exactly_. Just--nevermind. Why aren't you in Poseidonis?"

"I convinced Mera to let me leave without telling Orin," Calypso said as she walked into the cast of light coming from the single light under the microwave. "She did not like it, but she let me."

"...Why?"

"I have been doing research--"

"Calypso, we've talked about this, we already tried. There isn't any trace of them that we can find."

"I know, I know! But--I talked to a friend of mine, Iris. The goddess, not The Flash's wife. And she said she has talked to him, when he was leaving."

" _Leaving?_ " she whispered, looking around as if someone could hear them. "Calypso, are we--are we talking about your father or your sons?"

"Atlas," Calypso said. "My sons--I do not know if they lived. But Atlas did, he's been holding the sky since he betrayed the gods."

"And you said he left so . . ." Hearne felt her heart sink. " _Fuck_. Who took his place?"

"One of Oceanus' children, one of the outlawed. But that is not the point." Calypso took a deep breath. "My father is free. And I know you know things about him, but you have never met him, he--he is someone that needs to stay locked away. Someone that cannot be free."

"I know." Hearne carded a hand through her hair. "Do you know what he's planning? Do you know where he went?"

"Iris said that when he attacked her he wanted her to take him somewhere. To . . . I-Infinity Island, I think? Or maybe it was Eternal Island?" Calypso saw Hearne's horrified face and frowned. "What is it? Does that island mean something?"

"Ra's al Ghul lives there," she said. "Part of The Light, trains the Shadows--we called him the most dangerous man in the world."

"So my father is going to . . . join The Light?"

Hearne felt sick as she gripped the counter. "No. He's going to the Lazarus Pit. The only thing that could heal him after holding the sky."

**Author's Note:**

> this is crossposted from wattpad, in case it gets deleted. my username is euphoricsenses in case you wanna read it on there!


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